LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Grand Committees

Peter Robinson: To ask the Leader of the House how many times the (a) Scottish and (b) Welsh Grand Committees have met outside the Houses of Parliament in each of the last four years.

Geoff Hoon: Neither the Scottish Grand Committee nor the Welsh Grand Committee met outside the Houses of Parliament in any of the past four sessions. The Welsh Grand Committee met in Wales in March 2001.

Grand Committees

Peter Robinson: To ask the Leader of the House for what reason the Northern Ireland Grand Committee has not met outside Westminster.

Geoff Hoon: There has never been cross-party agreement for the Northern Ireland Grand Committee to meet outside Westminster. Were agreement reached, the Government would be ready to consider facilitating one.

PRIME MINISTER

EU Presidency

Keith Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister which areas of reform will be given priority during the UK Presidency of the EU.

Tony Blair: Like any EU presidency, the UK Government will take forward the work begun by its predecessors. This includes work on economic reform issues such as the better regulation agenda, the Services directive, and, EU/US economic co-operation. But this Government believes that the recent referenda in France and the Netherlands require a wider debate within the EU about how Europe can meet the challenges of globalisation.
	On the external agenda, we shall take forward new commitments to: Africa; promote development and eradicate poverty worldwide; tackle climate change; and, aim to advance trade liberalisation and development through the WTO trade talks in December. We shall also take forward the EU's enlargement agenda.

Iraq

Michael Penning: To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the level of looting of Iraqi heritage sites; and if he will raise the issue of the protection of these sites with (a) the Italian Prime Minister, (b) EU leaders and (c) G8 leaders when they next meet.

Tony Blair: The Government takes very seriously the need to respect Iraq's cultural heritage. As United Nations Security Council resolution 1546 (June 2004) stressed, all parties need to respect and protect Iraq's archaeological, historical, cultural, and religious heritage. Our EU and G8 partners are aware of these requirements.

Race Relations

Keith Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister what arrangements are in place to ensure that bodies or organisations within the responsibility of his Office comply with the requirements of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.

Tony Blair: For these purposes my office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. Hutton) today, at column 925W.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Cleaning Contract

David Winnick: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the House of Commons Commission what the annual value of the contract for cleaning the House has been in each year since the last contract was signed; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: I have been asked to reply.
	The main cleaning contract for both Houses of Parliament is worth about £2.2 million per annum of which 60 per cent. (£1.32 million) falls to the House ofCommons. The contract commenced in September 2003, and runs for five years.

Cleaning Contract

David Winnick: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the House of Commons Commission what is the average hourly wage paid to cleaners in the House.

Nick Harvey: I have been asked to reply.
	The in-house cleaning staff who clean sensitive areas are paid an average of £6.81 per hour. I understand that the main contract cleaners who clean common areas are paid a basic rate of £5.00 per hour.

Cleaning Contract

David Winnick: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the House of Commons Commission if he will make a statement on discussions between the House authorities and its cleaning contractors concerning the pay of cleaners in the House.

Nick Harvey: I have been asked to reply.
	The House authorities have been working with the management of MITIE, the cleaning contractor, to identify economies in the cleaning contract that could help to fund an increase in pay for the cleaners. Both parties have identified some such economies.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Domestic Violence

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Solicitor-General what Government policy is on prosecutions for domestic violence; and what guidelines have been issued to prosecutors on the subject.

Mike O'Brien: Stopping domestic violence and bringing perpetrators to justice is a priority for the CPS. In February 2005, it published its updated policy for prosecuting cases of domestic violence. The policy document explains the role of the Crown Prosecution Service and how prosecution decisions are made, and gives information on aspects of the legal process. It is available on the CPS website.
	At the same time as the policy was published, the CPS issued revised detailed guidance to its prosecutors. The guidance reflects increased emphasis on the safety of victims and children, concentrates on effective evidence gathering to build strong cases and advises on proceeding where a victim is unwilling to give evidence.

Jury Trial (Fraud Cases)

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Solicitor-General on what basis and for what reasons the responsibility for the use of juries in long and complex trials has been transferred to the Law Officers.

Mike O'Brien: It has not. The use of juries in long and complex fraud trials is the responsibility of all three Criminal Justice System Ministers, who are being advised by the tri-lateral Office for Criminal Justice Reform.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

BMG Consulting

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many questionnaires have been issued by BMG Consulting on behalf of his Department; and what the cost has been of this exercise.

Jim Fitzpatrick: BMG have sent 8,000 questionnaires to individuals across England as part of a national survey of public satisfaction with local government and its services that they are undertaking for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM).
	BMG will be paid £36,000 plus VAT by ODPM for the national survey of public-satisfaction with local government and its services. This survey is currently in the field.

Brownfield Land

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the Government's definition is of brownfield land.

Yvette Cooper: Annex C of Planning Policy Guidance Note 3 Housing sets out the Government's definition of previously developed land (sometimes referred to as 'brownfield land') for the purposes for planning for housing and the collection of data on previously developed land for the National Land Use Database.

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many homes in England were in each council tax band in each year since the introduction of council tax.

Phil Woolas: The number of homes in England in each council tax band in each year since 1993, when council tax was introduced, are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Bandings 
			  A B C D E 
		
		
			 1993 5,284,107 3,858,482 4,396,579 2,932,446 1,819,144 
			 1994 5,309,484 3,879,200 4,405,781 2,944,937 1,820,532 
			 1995 5,398,565 3,948,879 4,433,716 2,982,332 1,824,657 
			 1996 5,461,392 3,989,711 4,459,724 2,999,691 1,834,804 
			 1997 5,504,595 4,047,006 4,507,297 3,038,774 1,850,901 
			 1998 5,530,097 4,047,681 4,512,506 3,068,367 1,884,700 
			 1999 5,552,151 4,072,047 4,537,592 3,100,040 1,911,654 
			 2000 5,564,948 4,093,342 4,561,610 3,133,193 1,939,691 
			 2001 5,565,678 4,110,707 4,585,591 3,166,043 1,967,709 
			 2002 5,562,268 4,131,021 4,613,612 3,199,973 1,997,602 
			 2003 5,560,649 4,154,820 4,646,607 3,236,482 2,025,205 
			 2004 5,568,063 4,184,456 4,682,621 3,276,217 2,049,634 
			 2005 5,570,435 4,219,680 4,724,332 3,316,033 2,072,680 
		
	
	
		
			  Bandings 
			  F G H Total 
		
		
			 1993 981,203 745,840 119,687 20,137,488 
			 1994 975,357 739,756 118,256 20,193,303 
			 1995 954,887 703,154 109,403 20,355,593 
			 1996 957,535 698,130 108,187 20,509,174 
			 1997 965,796 697,949 106,080 20,718,398 
			 1998 987,467 717,634 111,072 20,859,524 
			 1999 1,003,248 728,011 113,032 21,017,775 
			 2000 1,020,993 739,008 114,953 21,167,738 
			 2001 1,037,560 749,520 116,463 21,299,271 
			 2002 1,054,129 760,300 117,936 21,436,841 
			 2003 1,070,596 769,553 119,403 21,583,315 
			 2004 1,083,613 777,004 120,751 21,742,359 
			 2005 1,095,689 782,711 122,056 21,903,616

Affordable Housing

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people in (a) the London borough of Haringey and (b) Hornsey and Wood Green constituency he estimates will be eligible for his Department's extended home ownership programme; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is currently consulting on the details of our proposals for making our low cost home ownership schemes simpler and fairer, as set out in the consultation document 'HomeBuy—Expanding the Opportunity to Own' (a copy of which is available in the Library of the House).
	We will make our decisions in the light of responses to consultation and the recommendations from the Regional Housing Boards. Locations will also reflect the quality and value for money of bids received under theprogramme.

Fire Officers (Attacks)

Nigel Evans: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many firemen have been hospitalised following assaults whilst on active duty in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Attacks on firefighters have only been recorded since 1 April 2004. Since 1 April 2004 a total of six firefighters have been hospitalised due to an assault.

High Hedges

Michael Fallon: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will set a maximum level of fees to be levied by local authorities in respect of charges for applications under the high hedges provisions of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on 23 March 2005, Official Report, column 70WS.

Home Information Packs

Robert Key: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister on what date he expects to implement those parts of the Housing Act 2004 relating to home information packs; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) intends to introduce home information packs throughout England and Wales as early as possible in 2007 and we are discussing with key stakeholders how this might best be achieved. The regulations required for the introduction of home information packs will be made at different times during 2005 and 2006, commencing with those prescribing the contents of the packs in September 2005. Details of the proposed contents have been published on the ODPM website at www.odpm.gov.uk

Home Inspectors (Diploma)

Robert Key: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many diploma courses for home inspectors are in operation; and how many people are training on them.

Yvette Cooper: The Awarding Body for the Built Environment (ABBE) has developed a Diploma in Home Inspection in consultation with the industry. The ABBE Diploma has been approved by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and comprises of a vocationally related qualification rather than a course. Over 1,000 such candidates are registered with assessment centres for the Diploma. ABBE has approved four assessment centres and a further three centres are currently seeking approval.

House Prices

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average house price was in each Government office region in (a) 1991, (b) 2003 and (c) the latest year for which figures are available.

Yvette Cooper: Data are not available for Government office regions on a consistent basis before 1993, and later for the north-west Government office region.
	
		Mix-adjusted house price by Government office region -- £
		
			 Government office region 1993 2004 
		
		
			 North-east 51,569 121,260 
			 North-west n/a 133,647 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 55,325 131,279 
			 East midlands 54,540 151,339 
			 West midlands 60,032 154,758 
			 East 67,463 197,187 
			 London 83,109 257,266 
			 South-east 77,798 227,726 
			 South-west 61,714 191,426 
		
	
	Source:
	Survey of Mortgage Lenders
	Mix-adjusted average house prices from 1993 for Government office regions are published as Live Table 507 on the ODPM website at:
	http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_housing/documents/page/odpm_house_604092.xls.
	Prior to 1993, simple average house price data are available for Standard Statistical Regions and are published as Live Table 512 on the ODPM website at:
	http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_housing/documents/page/odpm_house_604071.xls.

Local Authority Staff

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time staff were employed by each local authority per 1,000 population in the last year for which figures are available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: This information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Park and Ride Schemes

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1) what the location is of each park and ride scheme in operation in England; and on what date the construction of each was approved by the relevant government office for the region;
	(2)  what the location is of each proposed park and ride scheme that has been given approval by the relevant government office for the region.

Yvette Cooper: The Government do not collect information on the number or location of existing or proposed park and ride schemes. Government offices for the regions do not approve park and ride schemes. Their planning role is to act on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister, on land use planning matters in the region.

Park and Ride Schemes

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance the Government have issued to (a) local authorities and (b) government offices for the regions on park and ride schemes.

Yvette Cooper: The Government have issued planning policy guidance note (PPG) 13 Transport which gives national planning guidance on park and ride. The Government have not issued separate guidance to either local authorities or government offices for the regions.

Planning (Polytunnels)

Paul Keetch: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to change planning requirements for polytunnels; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 20 June 2005
	Where polytunnels are placed temporarily on agricultural land and used for horticulture, they may be deemed to be a use of land for agriculture and therefore exempt from planning controls under the provisions of section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Where the erection of polytunnels for agricultural purposes is deemed to constitute 'development' under these provisions, 'permitted development rights' under part six of the General Permitted Development Order (GPDO) 1995 may be available, subject to criteria set out in the Order. The Government currently have no proposals to change these statutory provisions.

Public Conveniences

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether public conveniences run by local authorities are liable for business rates; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Non-domestic rates are payable on non-domestic property, including public conveniences. The rateable value of each non-domestic property represents its annual rental value at the set date of 1 April 2003.

Public Conveniences

John Hemming: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many public toilets were available in each (a) unitary and (b) district council area on 1 January (i)2000, (ii) 2002, (iii) 2003 and (iv) 2004.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 June 2005, Official Report, columns 562–63W. I have deposited in the Library of the House a table that has been obtained from Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's analyses of commercial and industrial property data held by the Valuation Office Agency.
	The table gives the number of public conveniences as at 1 October 2000 and 1 April for 2002, 2003 and 2004. No data prior to 2000 and for 2001 are currently available.

Referendums

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which Department is responsible for (a) mayoral referendums and (b) local referendums held under the Local Government Act 2003.

Phil Woolas: The Department for Constitutional Affairs is responsible for policy on the conduct of mayoral and local referendums. Policy and legislation about when such referendums can be held and for what purpose are the responsibility of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Social Housing Grant

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what representations he received before the abolition of the Local Authority Social Housing Grant; and from whom;
	(2)  what representations he received, and from whom, on extending the transitional arrangements put in place to oversee the abolition of the Local Authority Social Housing Grant.

Yvette Cooper: A summary of responses to the consultation 'The Way Forward for Housing Capital Finance' was placed in the Libraries of both Houses on 19 May 2004. The summary includes, among other things, details of consultees who responded to the suggestion about the future of Local Authority Social Housing Grant (LASHG) in that paper. In addition, representations were received prior to the abolition of LASHG from the right hon. and hon. Members for:
	Barking
	Bedford
	Bristol East
	Bromley and Chislehurst
	Bury St. Edmunds
	Cheltenham
	Chester City
	Coventry South
	Dagenham
	Dewsbury
	East Surrey
	Forest of Dean
	Great Grimsby
	Henley
	Ipswich
	Knowsley North and Sefton East
	Lichfield
	Mid Bedfordshire
	Regents Park and Kensington North
	Reigate
	Runnymede and Weybridge
	Saffron Walden
	South Cambridgeshire
	Spelthorne
	Staffordshire Moorlands
	Stratford-on-Avon
	Tonbridge and Malling
	Wealden
	Welwyn Hatfield
	Witney
	Worthing West
	Yeovil
	and
	Baroness Maddock;
	Mark Watts MEP;
	and the following organisations, some of whom made representations through right hon. and hon. Members:
	Apex Group
	Aquarius Housing Consultancy
	Association of London Government
	Babergh District Council
	Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council
	Bedford Borough Council
	Breckland District Council
	Bromley London Borough Council
	Bromsgrove District Council
	Cheltenham Borough Council
	Cambridge City Council
	Chester City Council
	Chester Housing Partnership
	Christchurch Borough Council
	Corporation of London Council
	Daventry District Council
	East of England Regional Housing Forum
	East Hampshire District Council
	East Lindsey District Council
	Eden District Council
	Fareham Borough Council
	Field Lane Foundation
	Forest of Dean District Council
	Fylde Borough Council
	Guildford Borough Council
	Havant Borough Council
	Havebury Housing Partnership
	Hyde Housing Association Group
	Ipswich Borough Council
	Lichfield City Council
	Linx Housing Association
	Local Government Association
	Maidstone Borough Council
	Malvern Hills District Council
	Mid Sussex District Council
	Moat Housing Group
	Moorlands Housing Association
	National Housing Federation
	Newcastle Under Lyme Borough Council
	North Cornwall District Council
	North East Lincolnshire Council
	North Hertfordshire District Council
	North Yorkshire County Council
	Orwell Housing Association
	Penwith District Council
	Reading Borough Council
	Redditch Borough Council
	Reigate and Banstead Borough Council
	Restormel Borough Council
	Royal Borough of Kensington And Chelsea
	Runnymede Borough Council
	Rural Housing Trust
	Rushcliffe Borough Council
	Slough Borough Council
	South Cambridgeshire District Council
	South Norfolk District Council
	South Oxfordshire District Council
	South Shropshire District Council
	South Somerset District Council
	Spelthorne Borough Council
	Spelthorne Housing Association
	St. Edmundsbury Borough Council
	Staffordshire Moorlands District Council
	Stratford-on-Avon District Council
	Suffolk Housing Society
	Surrey Community Development Trust
	Sutton London Borough Council
	Swale Borough Council
	Swanbridge Housing Association
	Swindon Borough Council
	Test Valley Borough Council
	Thames Valley Housing Association
	Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council
	Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
	Tynedale District Council
	Uttlesford District Council
	Waverley Borough Council
	Wealden District Council
	Welwyn Hatfield District Council
	West Devon Homes
	West Dorset District Council
	West Kent Housing Association
	Westminster City Council
	West Oxfordshire District Council
	Weymouth and Portland Borough Council
	Wychavon District Council
	My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister subsequently received representations about transitional arrangements following the abolition of Local Authority Social Housing Grant from the right hon. and hon. Members for:
	Barking
	Chelmsford West
	Dagenham
	Ipswich
	Kingston and Surbiton
	Maldon and Chelmsford East
	Mid Norfolk
	Mid Worcestershire
	North East Bedfordshire
	Rayleigh
	St. Albans
	Stalybridge and Hyde
	Sunderland South
	South West Norfolk
	West Suffolk
	West Worcestershire
	and the following organisations, some of whom made representations through right hon. and hon. Members:
	Ashton Pioneer Homes
	Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council
	Bedford Borough Council
	Breckland District Council
	Canterbury City Council
	Cardinal Hume Centre
	Chelmsford Borough Council
	East Lindsey District Council
	Elmbridge Borough Council
	Hertfordshire Housing Forum
	Ipswich Borough Council
	Kennet District Council
	North Lincolnshire Council
	Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames
	Runnymede Borough Council
	St. Edmundsbury Borough Council
	South Hams District Council
	South Somerset District Council
	Suffolk County Council
	Sunderland City Metropolitan Borough Council
	Surrey Community Development Trust
	Surrey Local Government Association
	Tandridge District Council
	Tewkesbury MCTi Partnership
	Tewkesbury Borough Council
	Tower Hamlets London Borough Council
	Waverley Borough Council
	Westminster City Council
	West Wiltshire District Council
	Woodstock Town Council
	Wychavon District Council

Surplus Land

Tim Loughton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress has been made with the sale and development of the surplus land on the Southlands hospital site in Shoreham, West Sussex.

Yvette Cooper: Following the announcement by my right hon. Friends the Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Health last year, the first tranche of 67 surplus hospital sites transferred from Department of Health to English Partnerships on 6 April 2005. Other surplus sites, including the Southlands hospital site in Shoreham, will transfer to English Partnerships in 2005–06 and 2006–07. The land will be used to help deliver growth and regeneration including the provision of more affordable homes. English Partnerships is now working up future plans for the sites in discussion with local planning authorities.

Surplus Land

Tim Loughton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which of those surplus NHS sites transferred to his Department (a) have been sold for development, (b) have secured planning permission for development and (c) are to be developed by his Department.

Yvette Cooper: The first tranche of 67 surplus hospital sites, out of a total portfolio of 96, transferred from the Department of Health to English Partnerships on 6 April 2005. All of the sites will be assessed by English Partnerships for their development potential. Appropriate plans will then be drawn up in consultation with local planning authorities. No sites have yet been sold by English Partnerships for development. A number of sites in the portfolio have existing planning consents. It is likely that all sites will be taken forward by or in partnership with the private sector.

Surplus Land

Tim Loughton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of houses to be built on surplus NHS sites transferred to his Department will be affordable homes.

Yvette Cooper: The first tranche of 67 surplus hospital sites transferred from the Department of Health to English Partnerships on 6 April 2005. Other surplus sites will transfer to English Partnerships. Residential housing development, including the provision for a mix of tenures, will take place where sites are assessed as suitable. Such decisions will be made on a site by site basis taking account of local development plans and local needs. It is estimated that the total portfolio of 96 sites transferring to English Partnerships has the potential to deliver about 15,000 new homes, at least 5,000 of them affordable.

Sustainable Communities Plan

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how the Sustainable Communities Plan will amend green belt designation in each of the growth areas.

Yvette Cooper: Any proposals to change the general extent of green belt boundaries in the growth areas should be considered as part of a review of the regional spatial strategy or the London plan in the first instance, through the statutory development plan process. Government policy set out in the Sustainable Communities Plan is that every region should maintain or increase the area of green belt designated in local plans.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Air Transport (Emissions)

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of (a) carbon dioxide emissions and (b) Kyoto basket emissions are estimated to have come from air transport flights taking off from and landing in UK airports in 2003.

Margaret Beckett: pursuant to the reply, 26 May 2005, Official Report, c.179W
	The original answer mixed units of million tonnes carbon equivalent per year(MtCeq/yr) and million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent per year (MtCO 2 eq/yr). This resulted in an incorrect percentage to be calculated for the Kyoto basket emissions. All units are now presented as MtCO 2 eq/yr. A revised table is given as follows.
	
		
			  (a) CO 2 (b) GHG 
		
		
			 Emissions from domestic aviation million tonnes of carbon equivalent (MtCO 2 eq/yr) 2.11 2.14 
			 Total UK emissions inventory (MtCO 2 eq/yr) 572.2 665.8 
			 UK domestic aviation as a proportion of total emissions (%) 0.37 0.32 
		
	
	The original answer also contained an error in the units in the final sentence of text. The text referred to MtCeq/yr, this should have been presented as MtCO 2 eq/yr. The rest of the answer remains correct.

Bovine TB

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to ensure that badgers killed in road accidents in North Yorkshire are tested to see whether they are free of tuberculosis.

Ben Bradshaw: The Road Traffic Accident (RTA) survey is limited to seven counties in England (Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Dorset). We are awaiting the results of the validation of the survey before taking any decisions about extending the survey area further. There are also logistical and budgetary problems in extending the RTA survey.

Bovine TB

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to allow (a) land owners and (b) land occupiers to test badger setts humanely to ensure they are tuberculosis free.

Ben Bradshaw: There is currently no reliable diagnostic test for TB in live badgers. We are funding research into the development of a number of alternative immunological assays for the detection of M. bovis infection in badgers at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency. Further evaluation is being undertaken and results should be available by the end of 2005.
	Post-mortem inspection and laboratory culture of M.bovis remains the most sensitive method of diagnosis.

Bovine TB

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to ensure that areas, with particular reference to North Yorkshire, remain tuberculosis free in their cattle population.

Ben Bradshaw: We announced new measures last November to tighten surveillance and reduce risk of TB spreading to new areas. These include changes to testing frequency and the imposition of movement restrictions immediately a test becomes overdue from February 2005.
	The Government Strategic Framework for the Sustainable Control of Bovine Tuberculosis in Great Britain" was published on 1 March. Specific disease control policies will be tailored to reflect the regional variation in disease and risk, and adjusted to make best use of emerging scientific findings.
	In addition, we are also considering a proposal for pre-movement testing in Great Britain, developed by a farmer-chaired stakeholder group. The group delivered its report on 29 April, and published on DEFRA website on 1 June. The group's recommendations will be carefully considered.
	Great Britain's pre-movement testing policy would need agreement from the Scottish Executive and Welsh Assembly. We aim to consult later this year on the detailed proposal.

Apiculture

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the impact of the small hive beetle on the UK's bee population; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The small hive beetle is a notifiable pest of bees. It is indigenous to Africa and widespread in the USA. EU import controls have been extended to reduce the risk of its introduction. The beetle has not yet been reported within the Community beyond a single finding in a consignment of bees imported into Portugal last October.
	The National Bee Unit's assessment of this pest is that if it became established it could have a serious impact on the sustainability and economic prosperity of UK and European apiculture. Accordingly, the unit has been providing advice to beekeepers to raise awareness, and has increased its surveillance programme to monitor for its presence. We are also developing contingency measures to deal with any future finding of the pest in England.

Apiculture

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has received on the National Bee Unit health programme; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Department has received many written representations from beekeepers in recent months about our proposals to reduce expenditure with the National Bee Unit from 2008. Defra officials are maintaining a regular dialogue with representatives of the national beekeeping associations in England and have met them on three occasions so far this year to discuss their concerns and the possible impact of our proposals on future bee disease prevention and control.

Climate Change (Insect Population)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate the insect population in England; and what the predicted numbers are in the event of a (i) one per cent., (ii) two per cent. and (iii) three per cent. increase in current average temperatures due to climate change.

Elliot Morley: I am not aware of an estimate of the insect population in England.
	Scenarios of climate change published by the UK Climate Impacts Programme indicate that in future, the UK is likely to experience warmer, wetter winters, and hotter, probably drier, summers, with extreme high temperatures and rainfall events likely to occur more often. A collaborative research project led by English Nature (Modelling Natural Resource Responses to Climate Change"—Monarch) used these climate change scenarios to investigate impacts on the UK's flora and fauna.
	While there is no assessment of total numbers, the project notes that as the climate warms, those insect species suited to warmer conditions will spread north. Those species suited to cooler conditions may become extinct in Britain. It is unlikely that insects will become more abundant overall under possible climate change scenarios. Some species may increase in number, while others will decline, according to their temperature and humidity preferences and changes in their habitats. Non-climate factors (such as changes in land-use, and in the populations of insect predators) will also have a significant influence on insect populations in future.

Animal Diseases

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will set up a national surveillance agency to give early warning of suspected animal diseases and to monitor the spread of those diseases using satellite intelligence.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government recognise the importance of disease surveillance to allow early identification of new and emerging diseases. To this effect a strategy for enhancing veterinary surveillance in the UK was launched by the Department in October 2003 and is being implemented in partnership with a wide range of interested parties.
	Surveillance work is currently carried out on a national basis by two Defra agencies, the Veterinary Laboratories Agency and the State Veterinary Service, with additional surveillance widely commissioned elsewhere according to need. The Department also collects and monitors worldwide information on animal disease. Disease surveillance reports are published at regular intervals in the Veterinary Record . Given this existing activity, it is not planned to set up a further agency.
	The Government are funding the development of a unique surveillance information management system, RADAR (rapid analysis and detection of animal-related risks). RADAR incorporates the use of geographical information systems which are capable of analysing data captured by a variety of sources, including satellites. Comprehensive information about surveillance activities and RADAR is available at http://defraweb/animalh/diseases/vetsurveillance/index.htm.

Nuclear Waste

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the sites where nuclear waste is kept.

Elliot Morley: The following is a list of sites that currently store varying quantities of radioactive waste:
	Aldermaston
	Amersham
	Berkeley
	Bradwell
	Capenhurst
	Cardiff
	Chapelcross
	Clyde
	Culham
	Devonport
	Donnington
	Dounreay
	Drigg
	Dungeness
	Eskmeals
	Fort Halstead
	Heysham
	Hinkley Point
	Hartlepool
	Harwell
	Hunterston
	Oldbury
	Portsmouth
	Rosyth
	Sellafield/Calder Hall
	Sizewell
	Springfields
	Stafford
	Torness
	Trawsfynydd
	Vulcan
	Windscale
	Winfrith
	Wylfa

Nuclear Waste

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the Government's plan for the long-term storage of nuclear waste.

Elliot Morley: The UK Government and devolved administrations set up the independent Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) in 2003, under the Managing Radioactive Waste Safely" programme. Its task is to provide a recommendation on the option, or combination of options, for the long-term management of the UK's higher level radioactive waste.
	CoRWM launched the second phase of its Public and Stakeholder Engagement consultation programme in April 2005. The committee have evaluated 15 options and is now consulting on its proposal to carry out further assessments on a shortlist of four:
	Deep geological disposal
	Phased deep geological disposal
	Near-surface disposal of short-lived waste
	Long-term interim storage
	CoRWM will finalise its shortlist of options for assessment, in light of its consultations, by July 2005. It is due to provide its recommendations to Ministers, for their consideration, in July 2006.

Patio Heaters

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate the (a) carbon dioxide and (b) greenhouse gas emissions created by outdoor patio heaters in (i) the most recent year for which information is available and (ii) each of the next five years.

Elliot Morley: Only very limited information is currently available about the number of outdoor patio heaters in use in the UK.
	Using this information the Government's Market Transformation Programme (MTP) has made a preliminary estimate of the number of these appliances in use in the UK—estimating that there are 630,000 in use in the domestic sector and between 26,000 and 105,000 in the hospitality sector (pubs, restaurants and hotels).
	Making reasonable assumptions about fuel, power rating, and level of usage, MTP estimates annual energy consumption to be approximately 670 GWh in the domestic sector and between 280 and 1100 GWh in the hospitality sector. The corresponding annual carbon dioxide emissions are 140,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide in the domestic sector and between 60,000 and 240,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide in the in the hospitality sector.
	No information is available about projected carbon dioxide emission from outdoor patio heaters over the next five years.
	No information on other greenhouse gas emissions from outdoor patio heaters is available.

Primates

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many primates have been imported for the purpose of (a) laboratory experimentation and (b) sale as pets in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: Under the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the international movement of certain species (including all primates) is regulated by the issue of export and or import permits. The permits specify the purpose for which the animals are being moved.
	The number of primates for which import permits were issued for biomedical research or scientific purposes are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2000 1,752 
			 2001 2,012 
			 2002 2,226 
			 2003 1,861 
			 2004 1,970 
		
	
	No permits were issued to import primates for sale as pets.

Primates

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make it her policy to ban the (a) importation and (b) sale of primates for commercial purposes.

Jim Knight: It is our view that primates are not suitable for the general pet trade and imports are therefore already limited to zoos, scientific institutions, or specialised private keepers. Commercial trade in the more endangered primate species is also prohibited.
	Earlier this month I announced the Government's intention to go out to public consultation regarding the use of powers under Article 8.2 of Council Regulation 338/97 by the end of July. This is essentially a conservation measure but we shall certainly consider whether it would be appropriate to use these powers to restrict the keeping of primates as pets.

Veterinary Medicines

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received about the new dispensing regulation proposed by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate.

Margaret Beckett: The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is developing new Regulations setting out controls on all aspects of veterinary medicines. These will take forward relevant recommendations made in the Marsh and Competition Commission reports on the dispensing of veterinary prescription only medicines (POMs) in the UK, implement an amending EU Directive and replace the existing voluminous and outdated UK legislation on veterinary medicines with a single set of Regulations.
	The new Regulations contain a number of provisions that relate to the supply and dispensing of veterinary medicines, including proposed new distribution categories. We have received correspondence about issues relating to some of these and other provisions from a number of individuals including veterinary surgeons and animal owners/keepers.
	During the initial stages of developing the proposals, officials at the VMD consulted informally with a wide range of interest groups. Following further development, a formal consultation package was published on the VMD website on 4 January 2005 and a letter sent to some 350 interested organisations and individuals. Consultees were allowed four months, until 5 May, to comment. Over 300 responses have been received and the comments are currently being considered and will be taken into account in finalising the draft Regulations. The VMD has kept interested parties informed of developments on key issues by publishing a series of reaction notes and has arranged public meetings on 21 and 22 June to discuss the outcome of the formal consultation. The consultation package remains available on the VMD website www.vmd.gov.uk under Consultations" Previous".

HOME DEPARTMENT

Magistracy

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of cases set down for committal by magistrates in the Greater London area has not been ready for committal on the due date.

Harriet Harman: I have been asked to reply.
	Information on the effectiveness of committal hearings in the magistrates courts is not held centrally and could be produced only at disproportion cost. However, figures provided by the Crown Prosecution Service suggest that 1,133 committals were discharged during the period but comprehensive reasons for these are not recorded.

Public Order Act

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have occurred under sections (a) 18, (b) 19, (c) 20, (d) 21 and (e) 23 of the Public Order Act 1986 in each year since 2000; and how many convictions resulted, broken down by subsection under which each occurred.

Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
	The following table show the number of defendants prosecuted for an offence or offences contrary to sections 18–21 and 23 of the Public Order Act 1986 for the period 2000–04. The relevant statistics are recorded by reference to the year in which cases were referred to the Crown Prosecution Service by the police. There is no table provided for 2005 as no prosecutions have resulted, to date, from cases referred to the CPS by the police in 2005. It is not possible to specify the subsections concerned in each case as this information is not held centrally.
	
		
			 Section Defendants convicted Defendants prosecuted 
		
		
			 2000   
			 18 0 0 
			 19 4 2 
			 20 0 0 
			 21 0 0 
			 23 2 1 
			 Both 19 and 23 2 1 to date (other case ongoing) 
			  
			 2001   
			 18 0 0 
			 19 1 0 
			 20 0 0 
			 21 0 0 
			 23 0 0 
			 Both 19 and 23 1 1 (only convicted of s 23) 
			
			 2002   
			 18 0 0 
			 19 0 0 
			 20 0 0 
			 21 0 0 
			 23 0 0 
			 19, 21 and 23 1 1 
			 2003   
			 18 0 0 
			 19 5 All 5 ongoing 
			 20 0 0 
			 21 0 0 
			 23 0 0 
			 Both 18 and 23 1 Ongoing 
			 Both 19 and 23 1 Ongoing 
			 19, 21 and 23 1 Ongoing 
			
			 2004   
			 18 3 All 3 ongoing 
			 19 2 Both ongoing 
			 20 0 0 
			 21 0 0 
			 23 0 0

Student Visas

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the new charge for renewal of visas on the number of overseas students attending university in the UK.

Tony McNulty: In September 2004 my right hon. Friend the former Minister of State for Immigration and Nationality (Des Browne) commissioned a joint project team to undertake an assessment of the likely impact of increased leave to remain fees to attract more international students to the UK. The team comprised representatives from the Department for Education and Skills, the Home Office and the British Council. The outcomes of this work are available, alongside a Regulatory Impact Assessment for the education sector on the Home Office website. Des Browne's statement of 7 February commissioned a new Joint Education Task Force, including representatives from the education sector and other key stakeholders, to further develop this work.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Libraries

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many local authority-run libraries there have been in each London borough since 1997.

David Lammy: The table shows the aggregated number of public libraries, including mobile libraries, across inner and outer London for the period 1997–98 to 2003–04. This information is drawn from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Public Library Statistics Actuals. The CIPFA statistics show figures for individual library authorities. Copies are held in the House Library.
	
		
			  Number of London libraries 
		
		
			 1997–98 406 
			 1998–99 495 
			 1999–2000 402 
			 2000–01 397 
			 2001–02 397 
			 2002–03 392 
			 2003–04 395 
		
	
	Note:
	The table includes the libraries in the London borough of Hounslow which are run for the authority by a not for profit trust.

Licensing Act

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the outcomes of the first High Level Ministers/Senior Official Group on the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003.

James Purnell: The High Level Ministers/Senior Officials Group is one of the mechanisms put in place to monitor and evaluate implementation of the Licensing Act 2003. The minutes of the first meeting of 22 March are included on my Department's website at www.culture.gov.uk, under alcohol and entertainment. The key outcomes of that meeting were agreements on:
	The terms of reference, to be reviewed in early 2006;
	The conduct of future meetings, including the regularity of meetings, and the need for a basic position report to be tabled for each meeting during transition;
	Various specific issues arising from the implementation of the 2003 Act.
	Two other meetings have since been held—on 4 and 23 May. The minutes to the second meeting are now available on our web site as will be the minutes to subsequent meetings.

Memorial to Women

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had regarding the siting of the memorial to the women of the second world war in Whitehall.

David Lammy: Discussions were held with the patrons and trustees of the Memorial to the Women of World War II Fund and their technical advisers, the Royal Household, the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Office of Government Commerce, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the City of Westminster, and the National Heritage Memorial Fund.

National Lottery

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether it is her policy that the heritage sector will continue to benefit from the National Lottery after 2009.

David Lammy: The heritage good cause will continue. A decision on the shares for arts, heritage and sport good causes after 2009 will be made in June 2006, following public consultation on what is worth funding within these good causes.

Ofcom

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what guidelines Ofcom work to when deciding whether to investigate complaints made against television programmes; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many complaints were received by Ofcom concerning the programme, Jerry Springer The Opera"; what investigations took place into the programme; and if she will make a statement.

James Purnell: The matters raised are the responsibility of the Office of Communications (Ofcom) as independent regulator. Accordingly, my officials have asked the Chief Executive of Ofcom to respond directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the Chief Executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Queen Mother Memorial

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with (a) other Government Departments, (b) heritage organisations and (c) the London Assembly about the proposed memorial to the late Queen Mother.

David Lammy: Discussions have been held with HM Treasury, The Royal Household and The Royal Parks about the proposed memorial.

Television Licence

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many TV licence inspectors there were in London in each year since 1997.

James Purnell: The BBC has statutory responsibility for the administration of the television licensing system and TV Licensing carries out the day to day administration under contract to the Corporation. Ihave therefore asked the BBC's Head of Revenue Management to consider the question raised by the hon. Member and to write to her direct, placing a copy of the reply in the Libraries of both Houses.

Trooping the Colour

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding the Government have allocated for Trooping the Colour in each year since 1996.

David Lammy: The Queen's Birthday Parade (Trooping the Colour) is part of the core activities of the Ministry of Defence, and no extra funding is allocated. The only expenditure the Government allocate for Trooping the Colour is for flag flying and preparing and sanding all roads and gun salute areas and preparing the parade ground and clearing up after the event. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is responsible for flying the Union flags down the Mall and the Commonwealth flags along Horseguards Road; the Royal Parks are responsible for preparing the Royal Parks for the event. The following table shows the total amount of funding allocated by the Government from 1996.
	
		
			 Financial year Amount of Government funding (£) 
		
		
			 1996–97 (1)7,483 
			 1997–98 (1)11,361 
			 1998–99 83,094 
			 1999–2000 88,968 
			 2000–01 87,023 
			 2001–02 117,446 
			 2002–03 144,033 
			 2003–04 139,555 
			 2004–05 (2)77,214 
			 2005–06 (3)105,148 
		
	
	(1)As other figures are unavailable
	(2)Provisional
	(3)Proposed expenditure

Village Hall Committees

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what evidence she has collated of village hall committees carrying on a business without an appropriate licence.

James Purnell: holding answer 20 June 2005
	Evidence of this sort is not collated centrally. It is for the appropriate enforcement authorities, such as the police and licensing authorities, to consider matters of this sort.

DEFENCE

Armoured Vehicles

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the assessment phase of the Future Rapid Effects System undertaken by Atkins will have to comply with the objectives and criteria of the European Defence Agency.

Adam Ingram: The FRES Assessment Phase is not required to comply with any European Defence Agency (EDA) objectives or criteria. However, the United Kingdom supports the EDA in its work to ascertain the potential for co-operation/collaboration in the future procurement of Armoured Fighting Vehicles. The FRES Assessment Phase will take account of information from a number of sources, one of which will be the EDA, albeit the work of the EDA is still at an early stage.

Executive Agency Costs

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the forecasted estimated annual running costs were of the (a) Medical Supplies Agency and (b) Warship Supply Agency if it had operated as a stand-alone agency.

Adam Ingram: The estimated annual running costs for the Medical Supplies Agency (not including Stock Consumption of £40.5 million) for financial year 2004–05 are £28.5million. This is extracted from MSA Annual Accounts, which are in the process of being audited by the National Audit Office and therefore, may be subject to change.
	Had the MSA continued operating as an Agency the estimated running costs (again not including Stock Consumption) for FY 2005–06 are £21.5 million.
	The Warship Support Agency's net operating costs for 2004–05 were some £2,664 million. This is also taken from the Agency's Annual Accounts, which are being audited by the National Audit Office and therefore may be subject to change.
	Had the WSA continued operating as an Agency the estimated running costs for FY 2005–06 are £2,623 million.

Fylingdales

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provision is made in the contract between his Department and the US authorities for the continuing use of Fylingdales.

Adam Ingram: The operation and maintenance of RAF Fylingdales is governed by an Exchange of Notes, under which the US provides the specialist equipment there while the UK operates and maintains the Station. The data produced by the radar at RAF Fylingdales are shared between the UK and the US under the terms of a UK-US Combined Operating Agreement.

Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability Programme

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) class and role, (b) date of entry into service, (c) expected date of removal from service, (d) average annual cost of maintenance over the period of service and (e) cost of building is of each ship proposed by the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability programme; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) programme is currently in the Concept Phase and no decisions have yet been made on the class and role, timing or costs of the programme. These matters will be addressed during the Assessment Phase, which is planned to commence shortly.

Potton Island

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the former defence base at Potton Island, near Southend, is used for; whether consideration has been given to its release for a non-military purpose; what assessment has been made of impediments to a non-military use arising from his Department's use of the land; and if he will make a statement.

Don Touhig: Potton Island continues to be part of the group of islands that make up the Test and Evaluation Ranges at Shoeburyness and is used as part of the safety zone for the testing that takes place at the Ranges. A significant area of Potton Island is, however, leased for farming. Potton Island has been included in the Land Quality Assessment that is being carried out on the whole of Shoeburyness. Once the information from this assessment is available the future of the site will be reviewed.

Typhoon Aircraft

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will re-examine the case for operating Typhoon aircraft from the new aircraft carriers.

Adam Ingram: As I have previously indicated, we have no current plans for Typhoon to operate from our future aircraft carriers.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Support for Exhibitions and Seminars Abroad Scheme

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has for the Support for Exhibitions and Seminars Abroad scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: UK Trade and Investment will continue to run a substantial event programme to assist small and medium sized enterprises to enter overseas markets. Assistance will be given to those who stand to benefit most, namely new-to-export companies. The purpose of this support will be to enable such companies to acquire market knowledge and international experience as part of a strategic approach to exporting. The implementation details for the scheme in 2006–07 will be finalised after discussions with stakeholders during the summer.

Support for Exhibitions and Seminars Abroad Scheme

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many companies based in (a) Scotland and (b) the rest of the UK have received assistance under the Support for Exhibitions and Seminars Abroad Scheme in each year since 1997; what the average payment was in each case in each year; what assessment he has made of the impact of the scheme on exporters; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: Companies receiving grants from the Support for Exhibitions and Seminars Abroad scheme (and its predecessor, the Trade Fair Support Scheme, in 1997–98 and 1998–99):
	
		
			  Scotland Rest of UK 
		
		
			 1997–98 294 4,117 
			 1998–99 353 4,915 
			 1999–2000 325 4,888 
			 2000–01 366 5,414 
			 2001–02 336 5,106 
			 2002–03 396 5,523 
			 2003–04 334 5,214 
			 2004–05 423 5,843 
		
	
	The average grant payment during this period cannot be calculated but the average for 2004–05 is approximately £1,900.
	UK Trade and Investment will continue to run a substantial programme to assist small and medium sized enterprises to enter overseas markets through an events-based scheme. Assistance will be given to those who stand to benefit the most, namely new-to-export companies. The purpose of support is to enable such companies to acquire market knowledge and experience as part of a strategic approach to exporting.

Internet Access

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the estimated number of people per 1,000 population is that (a) own a home computer, (b) have access to the internet via normal telephone line and (c) have access to the internet via broadband in each London borough.

Alun Michael: The information is as follows:
	(a) In the latest Consumer Durables survey by ONS in 2002–03, 54 per cent. of households owned a home computer. This information is not available at a London borough level.
	(b) and (c) The following table shows the percentage of households that have a dial-up internet connection or a broadband connection for each of the London boroughs.
	
		
			 London borough Percentage of households with a dial-up internet connection Percentage of households with a broadband internet connection 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 31.8 21.1 
			 Barnet 38.0 26.6 
			 Bexley 35.5 23.6 
			 Brent 34.9 26.3 
			 Bromley 37.3 25.3 
			 Camden 39.9 26.5 
			 City of London 43.9 31.8 
			 Croydon 38.2 25.0 
			 Ealing 36.7 27.3 
			 Enfield 35.9 24.1 
			 Greenwich 35.0 23.2 
			 Hackney 36.0 23.8 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 37.5 29.3 
			 Haringey 38.1 25.3 
			 Harrow 37.0 26.4 
			 Havering 35.8 21.8 
			 Hillingdon 36.8 24.7 
			 Hounslow 38.0 25.3 
			 Islington 38.1 25.3 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 39.8 28.8 
			 Kingston upon Thames 40.1 26.5 
			 Lambeth 37.6 27.4 
			 Lewisham 36.7 25.1 
			 Merton 39.5 26.5 
			 Newham 33.2 22.9 
			 Redbridge 37.0 24.5 
			 Richmond on Thames 42.1 28.3 
			 Southwark 35.7 25.8 
			 Sutton 38.1 25.3 
			 Tower Hamlets 34.0 26.5 
			 Waltham Forest 36.3 24.1 
			 Wandsworth 38.7 30.8 
			 Westminster 40.2 26.8 
		
	
	Source:
	Point Topic

Export Control and Non-proliferation Directorate

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimated cost savings were cited by ASE Consulting in the report which considered privatising the Export Control and Non-proliferation Directorate; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The report focused on whether outsourcing as a means of service delivery was compatible with the executive functions of the Export Control Organisation and as such did not set out a detailed business case containing cost savings.

MG Rover

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which parties other than the MG Rover management team and his Department were informed that MG Rover had entered administration before the Secretary of State declared the insolvency on national television on Thursday 7 April; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 20 June 2005
	Tony Woodley (TGWU) and Derek Simpson (Amicus), were present when my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State was informed of the Directors decision to call in administrators and make a statement. Representatives of No. 10 and HM Treasury were also present.

MG Rover

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether any of the conditions applied to the bridging loan offered by the Government to the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation in relation to MG Rover were changed by the Government during the week commencing Monday 4 April; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 20 June 2005
	I can confirm the criteria against which the DTI considered the offer of a bridging loan to MG Rover were not changed in the week commencing Monday 4 April.

MG Rover

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the reasons why the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation decided not to pursue the deal to secure MG Rover.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 20 June 2005
	That is a question for SAIC. However, as my right hon. Friend the former Secretary of State noted in her statement on 7 April, SAIC made it clear that they were not confident about the future solvency of MG Rover, and that bridging loan finance would not have solved their concerns.

MG Rover

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the length of the repayment period was on the £100 million bridging finance offered by the Government in advance of MG Rover entering administration; and whether the length of this repayment period was changed after it was offered.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 20 June 2005
	The terms of the proposed loan required repayment by 31 May 2005. This requirement was not changed. No negotiations on the term of repayment took place as it became clear that the deal was not going ahead.

MG Rover

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish the terms of reference for the investigation into the affairs of the MG Rover Group.

Ian Pearson: The inspectors have been asked to examine issues raised by the Financial Reporting Review Panel in their report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the events leading up to the appointment of administrators on 8 April 2005.

Pay Phones

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will discuss with British Telecom its proposal to remove the last remaining pay phone in the village of Longdon in Worcestershire.

Alun Michael: The matter raised is the responsibility of the Office of Communications (Ofcom) as independent regulator. Accordingly, DTI officials have asked the chief executive of Ofcom to respond directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the chief executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Miners' Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been paid in costs to Raleys Solicitors since the inception of the vibration white finger and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease compensation scheme.

Malcolm Wicks: The total costs paid to Raleys solicitors are as follows:
	
		Total solicitors costs paid(4)
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 38.8 
			 Vibration white finger 7.3 
		
	
	(4)Solicitor's costs include VAT on solicitor's profit costs and disbursements, but exclude generic costs (which are paid to those solicitors involved in the initial litigation and in co-ordinating the claims handling framework).

Miners' Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many cases have received (a) interim settlements and (b) full and final settlements under the Vendside and Union of Democratic Mineworkers' chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and vibration white finger schemes.

Malcolm Wicks: The numbers of payments and settlements under the Vendside and Union of Democratic Mineworkers' schemes are as follows:
	
		
			 Policy Interim payments(5) Settled by payment Settled by denial/withdrawal Total settled 
		
		
			 COPD 2,852 15,351 1,743 17,094 
			 VWF 11,140 14,465 5,300 19,765 
			 Total 13,992 29,816 7,043 36,859 
		
	
	(5)Interim payments reflects the number of claimants" who have received an interim payment, rather than the number of payments made (some cases receive more than one interim).

Miners' Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been paid in costs under the Union of Democratic Mineworkers and Vendside scheme for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and vibration white finger in each year since 1999.

Malcolm Wicks: The total costs paid by year under the Union of Democratic Mineworkers/Vendside schemes are as follows:
	
		£ million
		
			  Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(6) Vibration white finger 
		
		
			 1999 — 0.7 
			 2000 0.1 0.9 
			 2001 1.1 2.8 
			 2002 3.8 2.0 
			 2003 11.1 2.9 
			 2004 9.2 1.7 
			 2005 4.1 0.7 
			 Total 29.4 11.6 
		
	
	(6)Solicitor's costs include VAT on solicitor's profit costs and disbursements, but exclude generic costs (which are paid to those solicitors involved in the initial litigation and in coordinating the claims handling framework).

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Cyprus

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the UN on new talks on Cyprus.

Douglas Alexander: There have been no recent discussions with the UN at ministerial level about new talks on Cyprus.
	We look forward, however, to hearing Sir Kieran Prendergast's ideas about the possibility of future talks when he reports to the UN Security Council following his fact-finding mission to the region.

Non-proliferation Treaty

John Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the non-proliferation treaty review conference.

Kim Howells: The UK's objective for the NPT review conference was to achieve a substantive outcome that strengthened the treaty. Regrettably, failure by states parties to agree an agenda meant there was not enough time to negotiate a substantive final document. Even so, the conference was able to discuss practical ways to strengthen the non-proliferation regime. We will take forward these ideas wherever we can over the coming months.

African Union

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the support provided by international organisations for the African Union in Darfur.

Ian Pearson: NATO, the EU and the UN are working closely together to provide co-ordinated and complementary assistance to the African Union mission in Darfur. We continue to play a leading role in supporting the African Union mission, and are in close contact with all three organisations on this issue.

Middle East

James McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress has been made on the Middle East Roadmap to peace.

Kim Howells: There have been some encouraging signs, including increased contact between the parties and a substantial reduction of violence. The situation is fragile, but we will work with the parties and international partners to maintain the momentum of progress. We will continue to work towards progress on the Roadmap.

Middle East

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress on Israeli disengagement from Gaza.

Kim Howells: Israeli disengagement from Gaza and part of the West Bank is due to start in mid-August. Disengagement is an important step. Withdrawal should be as full as possible and co-ordinated with the Palestinians. And we encourage the Palestinian Authority to make the most of this opportunity. We welcome the work of James Wolfensohn as the Quartet's representative on disengagement.

Middle East

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Government policy on the Middle East peace process.

Kim Howells: The UK remains committed to progress on the Roadmap. We welcome disengagement as an important first step. We are working with the parties and the international community in order to maximise the benefits of disengagement and keep up the momentum of recent progress. In doing so we support the work of US security co-ordinator General Ward and the Quartet's disengagement representative James Wolfensohn.

Hamas

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer on 13 June 2005, Official Report, column 136W, on Hamas, on what date (a) officials and (b) representatives in the region advised him to authorise contacts with members of Hamas.

Kim Howells: Circumstances in the occupied territories changed last December when members of Hamas, who had previously boycotted the democratic process, participated in, and were elected in. local elections. Discussions with officials and representatives in the region since this time led to the authorisation of some low-level contacts with elected representatives. No further meetings are currently planned.

Hamas

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer on 13 June 2005, Official Report, column 136W, on Hamas, on what dates he has held discussions with (a) Israel and (b) the Palestinian authority concerning meetings between his officials and members of Hamas; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to him on 13 June 2005, Official Report, column 136W.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed these contacts with the Israeli Foreign Minister, Silvan Shalom and Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on 7 June and Abu Mazen on 8 June.

Iraq

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Iraqi authorities on the proposed new constitution for Iraq.

Kim Howells: The Secretary of State discussed Iraq's constitutional process with the members of the Iraqi Government, the National Assembly, and other political groups when he accompanied the EU Troika to Baghdad on 9 June.
	I had discussions yesterday with representatives from the Iraqi Islamic Party on the constitution process and they told me that they will be examining the question of choosing 15 additional Sunni members to be added to the Constitutional Committee (that is drafting the new constitution) and the 10 Sunni advisors to that Committee.

Turkey (EU Accession)

Jeremy Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress towards Turkey's accession to the European Union.

Douglas Alexander: The EU agreed at the European Council in December 2004 to open accession negotiations with Turkey on 3 October 2005 provided that Turkey brought into force six pieces of outstanding legislation and signed the Protocol extending the Ankara Agreement to the 10 new member states.
	All six pieces of legislation are now in force, and we expect the Protocol to be signed soon. The European Council on Friday unanimously adopted conclusions which
	referred to its conclusions of December 2004 on enlargement and highlighted the need to implement them fully.
	The position is therefore clear. Provided it meets the conditions, accession negotiations with Turkey should open on 3 October.

Turkey (EU Accession)

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the Netherlands and France voting against the EU Constitution on the prospect for the accession of Turkey to the EU.

Douglas Alexander: The European Council unanimously adopted conclusions on 17 June which
	referred to its conclusions of June and December 2004 on enlargement and highlighted the need to implement them fully.
	The December 2004 European Council agreed to open accession negotiations with Turkey on 3 October 2005 provided that Turkey brought into force six pieces of outstanding legislation and signed the Protocol extending the Ankara Agreement to the 10 new member states. The position is therefore clear. Provided it meets the conditions, accession negotiations with Turkey should open on 3 October.

North Korea

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on UK relations with North Korea.

Ian Pearson: Embassies opened in Pyongyang and London after the establishment of full diplomatic relations between the UK and the DPRK in December 2000. Our relationship with the DPRK is one of constructive engagement. We take every opportunity to make clear our views on issues of international concern, notably the DPRK's nuclear weapons programme and widespread reports of human rights abuses.

Falkland Islands

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on relations between the Falkland Islands Government and the Argentinian Government.

Douglas Alexander: The Falkland Islands are a United Kingdom overseas territory and as such the United Kingdom Government are responsible for their international relations.
	The United Kingdom values its relationship with Argentina and wants it to be as constructive and as positive as possible.

European Constitutional Treaty

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the ratification of the treaty establishing a constitution for Europe.

Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member for Forest Dean to the statement to the House made yesterday by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, Official Report, column 523.

European Constitutional Treaty

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on progress on the treaty establishing a constitution for Europe.

Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. member for Congleton to the statement to the House made yesterday by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, Official Report, column 523.

European Constitutional Treaty

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the oral statement of 6 June 2005, Official Report, column 1005, on the EU constitutional treaty, if he will list the articles of the Maastricht treaty under which the European Defence Agency was established; and what the basis was for his statement that the European Defence Agency is not in the EU constitutional treaty, with particular reference to article I-41(3) of that treaty.

Douglas Alexander: The European Defence Agency was formally established on 12 July 2004 by a unanimous decision by Heads of State and Government. It was established under the Council Joint Action 2004/551/CFSP on the basis of article 14 of the treaty on the European Union (Maastricht).
	The establishment of the EDA is referred to in the text of the constitutional treaty (article IV/438). If and when the constitutional treaty comes into force it will provide a new legal base for the EDA; unless and until that time the Council Joint Action is sufficient legal base.

China (Religious Policy)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received concerning raids and arrests in late May by Chinese police in house churches in the Changchun area of China; and what representations he has made to the Chinese Government.

Ian Pearson: We are aware of the arrests to which my hon. Friend refers and are monitoring the situation.
	We are concerned about the issue of religious freedom in China. During his most recent trip to China in January 2005, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised progress on the ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which contains provisions on freedom of conscience and religion. The case of house church leader, Pastor Zhang Rongliang, was also discussed.
	We also raised our concerns on religion with the Chinese Government at the latest round of our biannual UK/China human rights dialogue, held in London on 6 June.

Colombia

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how the UK Government plan to monitor implementation of the UN human rights recommendations referred to in the UNCHR Chair's Statement on Colombia; and if the Government will take steps to ensure that appropriate (a) international organisations and (b) other countries take steps to monitor the implementation of those recommendations through an appropriate six months monitoring mechanism.

Douglas Alexander: The United Nations Commission for Human Rights (UNCHR) Chairperson's statement on Colombia calls for the prompt implementation of UN human rights recommendations. Although it does not specifically seek to establish a formal six months monitoring mechanism to help achieve this aim, the international community will continue to closely monitor progress in implementation of the recommendations. They will do so through the regular contacts which the G24, the group drawn from participants the 2003 London meeting of international support for Colombia which includes the EU, has with the Colombia office of the UN high commissioner for human rights, the Colombian Government and Colombian and international civil society. The international community will also continue to look for ways to encourage and assist the Colombian Government to improve the human rights situation in Colombia.

Craig Alden

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met the family of Craig Alden.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 20 June 2005
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met with Mrs. Alden, Craig's mother; and her then Member of Parliament, the former Member for Cambridgeshire, North-West, (Sir Brian Mawhinney), in April 2004. The Foreign Secretary has since been regularly updated on this case. Senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials maintain a regular dialogue with Craig's family and have twice met with Mrs. Alden in the last four months.

Craig Alden

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Government of Brazil on the case of Craig Alden.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 20 June 2005
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary wrote to his Brazilian counterpart on 30 March regarding Mr. Alden's case based on conclusions in the reports produced by Mr. Alden's pro bono lawyer. The Foreign Secretary's letter is being followed up by our Ambassador in Brasilia on a regular basis.

Craig Alden

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met the Brazilian Ambassador to discuss the case of Craig Alden.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 20 June 2005
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has never discussed the case of Mr. Craig Alden with the Brazilian Ambassador. He wrote to the Brazilian Foreign Minister about Mr. Alden's case on 30 March.

Ethiopia

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Ethiopia.

Ian Pearson: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton, North (Ms Keeble) on 20 June 2005, Official Report, column 741W.

Ethiopia

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether the recent parliamentary elections in Ethiopia were free and fair.

Ian Pearson: It would be premature to speculate on the final outcome of the Ethiopian election. The National Electoral Board is still investigating reports of irregularities in some 300 constituencies. We will await the final assessment of the EU Election Monitoring Mission on the conduct of the election.

Ethiopia

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the causes of civil unrest in Addis Ababa following the announcement of the provisional results of the recent parliamentary election.

Ian Pearson: The civil unrest appears to have been caused by the delay in confirming the results of the 15 May elections and the allegations of malpractice. The parties have now agreed on the procedure for the investigation of complaints to enable the National Electoral Board to complete its work impartially. We have urged all the parties to respect the constitutionally established law and the democratic institutions and to exercise restraint.

EU Embassies

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many embassies the EU has; and how many new ones are planned.

Douglas Alexander: The European Union does not have any embassies overseas and there are no plans to open any. However, the European Commission has 123 missions to third countries, five missions to international organisations, four representations and offices, and seven technical offices. These represent the EU in areas of Commission competence such as external trade and European Commission development assistance. The first Commission overseas mission was established in 1954.

European Defence Agency

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the budget is for the first year of the European Defence Agency.

Douglas Alexander: The European Defence Agency was established in July 2004. Its budget from July 2004 to the end of 2004 was 1.8 million. The Agency has a budget of 19.9 million for 2005. For 2005 the United Kingdom will pay 3,596, 803, met from the Ministry of Defences's budget.

European Defence Agency

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the EU is taking to set up the European Defence Agency.

Douglas Alexander: The European Defence Agency was formally established on 12 July 2004 by a unanimous decision by Heads of State and Government. It was established under the Council Joint Action 2004/5 51/CFSP on the basis of Article 14 of the treaty on the European Union (Maastricht).

European Defence Agency

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff are planned to be employed by the European Defence Agency.

Douglas Alexander: The Agency has a budget to employ 80 staff in 2005. The UK has worked to ensure that staffing levels in the EDA remain low. The EDA's chief executive is Nick Witney, a former UK Ministry of Defence civil servant.

European Fundamental Rights Agency

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken by the EU to set up a European fundamental rights agency.

Douglas Alexander: The EU is taking the following steps to set up the European fundamental rights agency:
	The European Council decided in December 2003 to extend the remit of the Vienna-based EU Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) to become a human rights agency. In December 2004, the European Council called for further implementation of this decision.
	In October 2004, the European Commission published a communication in order to seek the views of member state Governments and civil society on the agency. In January 2005, the UK Government published its response to the communication, which is available at
	http://europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/news/consulting_public/fundamental_rights_agency/doc/contribution_uk_en.pdf).
	The Commission is shortly expected to publish a proposal for a legal instrument establishing the fundamental rights agency.

European Strategy Committee

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times the European Strategy Committee have met; and whether further meetings are planned.

John Hutton: I have been asked to reply.
	Although the Government publish the title, membership and terms of reference of cabinet committees, it has been the practice of successive governments not to disclose when they meet or the details of their proceedings, including the dates they meet.

Liberia

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of progress on the comprehensive peace agreement in Liberia.

Ian Pearson: Since the comprehensive peace accord was signed in August 2003, fighting in Liberia has ended. The United Nations Mission in Liberia has established control of the country; disarmament of ex-combatants has been completed; and the country is preparing for elections in October. Progress has been positive, but further steps must be taken towards improved governance and economic accountability within the National Transitional Government of Liberia.

Nigeria

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking to help relieve ethnic tensions in Nigeria.

Ian Pearson: Representatives from the British high commission in Abuja regularly raise incidents of ethnic unrest in Nigeria with the relevant federal and state authorities. Specific initiatives we are supporting to address ethnic tension include funding the work of Coventry Cathedral's International Centre for Reconciliation to decrease violence in Plateau State, and working with the Nigerian Presidential Implementation Committee to put in place their recently agreed strategic conflict assessment.

Russia

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met the Russian Foreign Minister to discuss (a) legal reform and (b) judicial independence in Russia.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 20 June 2005
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary talked about the independence of the judiciary in Russia with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov when they met in London on 1 March this year. The Foreign Secretary and Mr. Lavrov also discussed the state of human rights and democracy in Russia in the context of Russia's membership of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. More recently my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister discussed the present state of Russia and its future development, including judicial reform, with President Putin in Moscow on 13 June.
	We have made clear the importance we attach to the rule of law and its impact on investor confidence through our regular Ministerial as well as Embassy contacts with the Russian Government. These contacts include a bilateral human rights dialogue with the Russian Government. The latest round of talks was held in Moscow on 23 May 2005. Discussion included questions about progress on judicial reform in Russia as well as opportunities for building on on-going project work in the area of penal reform.
	We are also engaged, with our European partners, in biannual EU-Russia human rights consultations. The first session of consultations took place in Luxembourg on 1 March 2005. The next round of consultations is scheduled to take place under the UK presidency of the EU on 8 September 2005.

Russia

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further reforms relating to the rule of law in Russia the UK would require to be put in place before agreeing to Russia being accepted as a member of the World Trade Organisation.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 20 June 2005
	The European Commission leads on World Trade Organisation issues on behalf of EU member states. WTO accession negotiations between the EU and Russia were concluded in May 2004. Russian WTO membership is now pending the successful conclusion of negotiations with other WTO members.

Rwanda/Burundi

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Burundian authorities on the deportation of Rwandan asylum seekers; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: We have spoken to both the Burundian and Rwandan Governments to remind them of their obligations under relevant international law, particularly the principles set out in the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1974 Organization of African Unity Convention, to which both countries are signatories. We have urged both Governments to co-operate fully with staff of the UN high commission for refugees and other UN agencies.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the Home Office regarding Sudanese refugees facing torture in Sudan.

Ian Pearson: We hold regular discussions with the Home Office regarding the status of Sudanese refugees who could face torture in Sudan. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office provides regular updates and responds to specific requests from the Home Office on the situation and conditions in Sudan, which inform asylum caseworkers' decisions.
	Our embassy in Khartoum, both bilaterally and as part of the EU-Sudan dialogue, makes regular representations to the Sudanese Government on the need for it to abide by international humanitarian law, including international human rights treaties. We have also committed 7.2 million for a programme to reform the Sudanese judicial sector and ensure it complements Sudan's international human rights obligations, including by ratifying and implementing the UN Convention Against Torture.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the statement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights that the Janjaweed have operated with impunity and in close co-ordination with the forces of the Government of Sudan;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to implement the UN Security Council's resolution of 30 July 2004 to disarm the Janjaweed militia.

Ian Pearson: On 7 May 2004 the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a report in which he outlined his concerns that Janjaweed militias were operating with impunity and in close co-ordination with the forces of the Government of Sudan (GoS).
	United Nations Security Council Resolution 1556, passed on 30 July 2004, demanded that the GoS disarm the Janjaweed militias and apprehend and bring to justice Janjaweed leaders responsible for violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. We have made clear to the Government that we expect it to tackle the climate of impunity and to comply with this Resolution, and all other commitments it has made.
	On 31 March 2005, the Security Council also passed resolution 1593, which we sponsored, referring the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal Court. We are pressing the GoS to co-operate in full with the court.
	Only a political solution to this conflict will create the necessary conditions for long-term peace and a sustainable disarmament process in Darfur. We therefore welcome the resumption, on 10 June, of the Abuja peace talks for Darfur. A UK Observer is attending the talks.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans are being developed (a) to return the displaced people of Darfur to their homes and (b) to provide them with security.

Ian Pearson: We have made clear to the Government of Sudan (GoS) that all returns must be voluntary, and carried out in full accordance with the established international mechanisms.
	Improving the security situation is key if those who have been displaced are to return to their homes. We are pressing the GoS to ensure the safety of its civilians and improve the security situation there, but the African Union (AU) mission also has a key role to play.
	We welcome the planned expansion of the AU mission to over 7,700 personnel and have allocated 19 million in support of this. Where AU troops are deployed, they have helped create the necessary conditions for some Internally Displaced Persons returns. For example in Labado and Khor Abeche the AU presence has, according to the UN, enabled 15,000 and 4,500 people respectively to return to their homes. The additional troops will enable the AU to provide greater geographical coverage in Darfur, and a more permanent presence in areas where it is already deployed.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Arab League about the killing of African Muslims in Darfur.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham (Daniel Kawczynski) on 13 June 2005, Official Report, column 477W.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to establish a no-fly zone over Darfur.

Ian Pearson: The Government of Sudan (GoS) signed the Abuja Security Protocol on 9 November 2004, which commits them to refrain from all hostile military overflights over Darfur. Under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1591, the African Union (AU) is requested to monitor compliance by GoS with this commitment. We continue to make clear to both the GoS and the rebels that they must abide fully by the commitments they have made, and the UN Security Council Resolution.
	In early February the GoS announced that they would remove their Antonov aircraft from Darfur and refrain from hostile use of aircraft there. The Antonovs appear to have been withdrawn. Although helicopter gunships remain in Darfur, the AU and the UN Secretary-General report that the Government has not conducted any air attacks since January.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which international organisation is funding the airlift of African Union troops into Darfur; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: Both NATO and the EU are committed to supporting expansion of the African Union's (AU) mission in Darfur and are considering, in response to AU requests, assistance across a range of areas, including support for the airlift of AU troops into Darfur. Neither the EU nor NATO has yet made formal detailed offers of assistance to the AU. but both organisations are expected to play a role in co-ordinating offers from their members of aircraft and funds to support the airlift of AU troops. In this context, the UK will providesubject to AU requirements and other donors' contributionsfinancial assistance to support the airlift, co-ordinated by NATO, of up to three battalions.

Uganda

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the recent statement made by the World Bank on the future of Uganda.

Ian Pearson: The World Bank has not shared any recent statement on the future of Uganda with us.

Uganda

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what dates (a) he and (b) his officials met organisations representing the Ugandan Government; and which organisations were involved.

Ian Pearson: Officials at the British high commission in Kampala met a representative from Hill and Knowlton PR company on 15 March. Another of the company's representatives accompanied Ugandan Ministers Kutesa and Mbabazi on a call at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 14 April. We maintain a wide range of contacts on Uganda with Government representatives, NGOs, members of the diaspora and others

Uganda

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Northern Uganda; and what steps he is taking (a) to advance a cease-fire, (b) to help bring to account those who have committed war crimes through the International Criminal Court and (c) to assist land reform.

Ian Pearson: We remain concerned at the continuing conflict in the north of Uganda. A sustainable peace will require more than simply a military solution and we are continuing to support Betty Bigombe's, former Minister for the North, locally led mediation efforts.
	We are working closely with the International Criminal Court (ICC). The prosecutor of the ICC announced his decision to launch a formal investigation into the situation in Northern Uganda in July 2004. Because of the need to respect his independence, and to protect the integrity of the Court's operations, we cannot comment on the operational aspects of specific ICC investigations, nor reveal what support the UK is providing.
	The Ugandan Government are currently finalising the Land Use Policy, which covers Uganda as a whole. It aims to link land reform to poverty reduction and other important issues, including strengthening women's rights. The UK was instrumental in developing the Land Act, which preceded the policy. In the north, most of the population is currently displaced. It will be important to ensure that their access and property rights are protected. We are monitoring this issue very closely.

Uzbekistan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what representations he has made to the Uzbek National Parliament on the role of the Parliamentary Commission in investigating the recent troubles;
	(2)  whether the UK was invited to be part of the task force set up by the Uzbek Government to investigate Andijan.

Douglas Alexander: The UK has made no representations to the Uzbek National Parliament on the role of the Parliamentary Committee in investigating the recent unrest in Andizhan (Andijan). But at the General Affairs External Relations Council on 13 June, the UK and its EU partners made it clear to the Uzbek authorities that the parliamentary inquiry was an inadequate response, and called on them to reconsider their position on an independent international inquiry. It is only in this way that we will form a clear understanding of the events of 1213 May, and the circumstances surrounding them.
	The UK was not invited to monitor the Uzbek Parliamentary investigation.

Uzbekistan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the involvement of foreign nationals in the recent disorders in Andijan.

Douglas Alexander: We do not yet have a clear understanding of what happened in Andizhan (Andijan). It is for this reason, given the reports of a disproportionate use of force, that my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has repeatedly called for an immediate, independent and international inquiry into the events that occurred in Andizhan on 1213 May 2005.

TRANSPORT

MOT Testing

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will defer the introduction of computerised MOT testing of vehicles until he has ascertained that the computerised procedure will save time; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The computerisation of the MOT system is designed to deliver a number of benefits and a reduction in time taken was not among those planned.

Air Transport (London)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many flights there were (a) from and (b) to (i) Gatwick, (ii) Heathrow, (iii) Stansted and (iv) London City airport in each of the last five years.

Karen Buck: The table shows the number of air transport movements to and from Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted and London City airport for each of the last five years.
	
		Number of flights at UK airports: 200004 -- Thousand
		
			 To: 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Gatwick 126 122 117 117 120 
			 Heathrow 230 229 230 228 235 
			 Stansted 72 75 76 84 88 
			 London City 25 27 26 24 27 
			 From:  
			 Gatwick 126 122 117 117 121 
			 Heathrow 230 229 230 229 235 
			 Stansted 72 75 77 85 89 
			 London City 24 27 26 24 27

Blue Badge Scheme

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the operation of the blue badge scheme, with particular reference to the requirement to (a) display the badge and (b) produce it on demand.

Karen Buck: The blue badge scheme provides a national arrangement of parking concessions primarily for people with severe walking difficulties, which is administered by local authorities. Their role includes the assessment of applications, the issue of blue badges as well as enforcement of the scheme itself.
	Display of the badge
	To use the concessions under the scheme badge holders must display the badge on the dashboard or fascia panel of the vehicle, with the front facing forward, so that the relevant details are clearly legible from outside of the vehicle.
	Production of the badge for inspection
	At present there is no requirement for a badge holder to produce the badge for inspection. However, following a recent review of the blue badge scheme, the Government accepted a number of recommendations from our statutory advisers, the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, including the provision for a power to inspect blue badges. This was successfully introduced in the Traffic Management Act 2004. The new power will be implemented later in the year by Commencement Order. This will allow us the time to produce and consult on the necessary guidance that will be required by enforcement officers and badge holders themselves.

Civil Servants

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what value for money procurement savings were identified and what reduction in civil service posts occurred in his Department in 200405.

Karen Buck: In pre-Budget report 2004 the Chancellor reported OGC value for money gains in central civil Government procurement for 200304 of 2 billion. OGC value for money procurement gains for 200405 are being calculated and will be published in the 2005 Treasury Autumn Performance Report.
	In Budget 2005 the Chancellor announced a headcount reduction of 12,500 posts by the end of 200405, towards the Government's target of a gross reduction of 84,000 civil service and administrative posts by 2008.
	The number of filled civil service posts measured on a full-time equivalent basis, including both permanent and casual staff, released due to efficiency in the Department for Transport between 1 April 2004 and 1 April 2005 was 352.
	The Department has necessarily had to recruit additional staff to its priority frontline areas during 200405, including the Transport Security  Contingencies Directorate and the Accident Investigation Branches (rail, aviation and marine) within the central Department, traffic officers within the Highways Agency and driving examiners within the Driving Standards Agency.

Crossrail

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures Crossrail is taking to compensate for loss of facility (a) on Westlands playing field and (b) at St. Edward's school due to construction works.

Derek Twigg: The impacts, both temporary and permanent, of the land take from Westlands playing fields and St. Edward's school required to construct the Crossrail depot are recognised. Measures to mitigate these impacts are currently under discussion with the London borough of Havering.

Crossrail

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the latest estimate is of the cost of construction of the Crossrail project, including the Romford maintenance depot and related works on the north-eastern branch.

Derek Twigg: The Estimate of Expense submitted with the Crossrail hybrid Bill estimates the cost of Crossrail as 10.292 billion in first quarter 2002 prices.

Crossrail

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the likely cost of construction of the Crossrail project, including maintenance depot and related works, on the north-eastern route, if the depot were to be built at site (a) GE1, Cowbridge Grange Farm, (b) GE2, Little Cowbridge Grange, (c) GE7, Arnold's Wood, (d) GE9, Brentwood Allotments, (e) GE10, Brentwood A12 Hotel site and (f) GE12, Harold Court.

Derek Twigg: No such estimates have been made for these sites as they were discounted after stage one of Cross London Rail Links depot location assessment. A report detailing the depot site selection process was released by Cross London Rail Links on 26 May 2005 and is available on their website.

Crossrail

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate has been made of the incremental (a) net present value and (b) cost-benefit ratio to Crossrail for (i) Whitechapel station and (ii) the Shenfield branch line to Liverpool Street.

Derek Twigg: I understand from Cross London Rail Links that the incremental benefit: cost ratio for the Shenfield branch is 8.7:1 (calculated by adding that branch to a base scheme of Paddington to Isle of Dogs). The Net Present Value (defined as the Present Value of Benefits minus the Present Value of Costs) for the Shenfield branch is +6,258 million. Their estimates are at first quarter 2002 prices.
	The analysis of costs and benefits is not disaggregated to the level of individual stations. However, the incremental cost of Whitechapel station is some 320 million, including risk and contingency, at first quarter 2002 prices.

Crossrail

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment Network Rail has made of Crossrail plans for (a) operations over the great eastern main line and (b) increased services from Stansted and Hertford East into London.

Derek Twigg: As part of ongoing discussion between Network Rail, Department for Transport and Cross London Rail Links Ltd. (CLRL), timetabling information and modelling studies for Crossrail undertaken by CLRL are being shared with Network Rail for their comment, further development and, in due course, verification.
	By releasing platform capacity at Liverpool Street, Crossrail would improve the potential for expansion of services from the Lea Valley.

Crossrail

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether provision has been made for extension of the Crossrail system beyond the routes included in the current Bill.

Derek Twigg: In order to facilitate extension of Crossrail in the long-term, a direction to safeguard a section of the north Kent line between Abbey Wood and a proposed new station at Ebbsfleet was issued on 24 February 2005. As soon as practicable we will begin consultation on safeguarding land for potential infrastructure enhancements along this section.
	We have said that we will consult on the possibility of safeguarding a potential westward extension of Crossrail to Reading. We will start that consultation as soon as practicable.

Crossrail

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the estimated cost is for the construction of the Crossrail maintenance depot and related works in Romford.

Derek Twigg: The estimated cost for the construction of the Crossrail maintenance depot and related works at Romford is 430 million.

Crossrail

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Crossrail trains are expected to travel from (a) Abbey Wood to Heathrow and (b) Shenfield to Heathrow without the need for passenger transfer.

Derek Twigg: For project appraisal purposes, Cross London Rail Links Ltd. (CLRL) has assumed that, typically, four trains per hour will operate directly between Abbey Wood and Heathrow airport. On this basis, there would be no direct service from Shenfield to Heathrow; passengers would change at any Central London station and catch a Crossrail train on the same platform to Heathrow. These service patterns are indicative at this stage.
	The final service pattern will be decided when the operational working timetable is planned.

Crossrail

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government are taking to ensure that green belt land is preserved in relation to the building of Crossrail facilities in Romford.

Derek Twigg: In developing the Crossrail route Cross London Rail Links Limited have sought to minimise its impact on green belt land. The Environmental Statement prepared for Crossrail makes it clear that the impacts of Crossrail are outweighed by its benefits, and that the impactsthough rightly important to those affectedare overall small for a project the size of Crossrail. While a small strip of approximately 4.3hectares of green belt land is needed for a dive under at Romford, to allow Crossrail trains to cross the Great Eastern Main Line, the proposed maintenance depot at Romford will be located on a brownfield site.

Fare Evasion

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many successful prosecutions were carried out against passengers for avoiding fares on (a) trains, (b) buses and (c) the tube in London in each year since 1997.

Karen Buck: Transport for London is responsible for prosecutions for fare evasion on buses in London. This information is not held centrally.
	The information requested in regard to trains and the tube in London can only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

Motorway Repairs

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which body is responsible for determining the highway speed limits which apply during major long-term road works; at what level of seniority such decisions are taken; what the policy is on speed limits in place during periods when working is temporarily suspended; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 20 June 2005
	It is for the highway authority to determine an appropriate speed limit for major long-term road works. For trunk roads, this is the Highways Agency.
	Decisions are made by qualified and experienced highway engineers, based on the statutory guidance in chapter 8 of the DfT's Traffic Signs Manual and in consultation with the police.
	When works are temporally suspended, the Highways Agency removes temporary traffic management and speed limits where it is safe and cost-effective to do so.

North-West Airports

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many aircraft used (a) Blackpool, (b) Manchester and (c) Liverpool airport in each of the last three years.

Karen Buck: The following table shows number of air transport movements at Blackpool, Manchester and Liverpool airport for each of the last three years.
	
		Number of flights at UK airports: 200204 -- Thousand
		
			 Total 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Blackpool 8 9 10 
			 Manchester 178 192 208 
			 Liverpool 33 39 40

Nuclear Waste

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the transport by rail of nuclear waste.

Derek Twigg: Transport of such material is subject to strict regulation, based upon the internationally agreed recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEARegulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material) to ensure protection of members of the public, workers and the environment from the potential effects of radiation. Rail transport has proved to be a practical and efficient mode of transport for the heavy loads involved. In 40 years of experience of these transports in the UK there has never been an accident resulting in death or serious injury to persons, nor significant harm to the environment from radiological cause when transported in accordance with the IAEA Regulations.

Railways

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) specialist locomotives and (b) other items of rolling stock are in use to facilitate themaintenance of the railways; and what change there has been in the numbers of each in each of the last 10 years.

Derek Twigg: This is an operational matter for Network Rail. Network Rail will respond directly to the hon. Member.

Railways

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to return the national rail network to public ownership.

Derek Twigg: The Government have no plans to return the national rail network to public ownership. Both public and private money is benefiting the railway. Re-nationalisation would not only mean covering the costs of buying back the railway, but also losing that private source of money.
	Following the Rail Review, the Future of Rail White Paper set out a new streamlined structure based on the principle of public and private partnership, recognising rail's importance as a vital public service specified by the Government and delivered by the private sector.

Railways

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will instruct the Strategic Rail Authority that increased passenger services between Cardiff and London should be a condition of the new franchise.

Derek Twigg: No. The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) issued invitations to tender to bidders for the new Greater Western franchise on 2 June. The current half-hourly 'inter-city' service between Cardiff and London is included in the timetabled specification that forms the base case, which means that each bidder will commit to provide it. Bidders are, however, being asked to separately cost a reduction in the service frequency in the off-peak from half-hourly to hourly, to determine the value for money of operating these services within the new franchise.

Railways

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his latest estimate is of the number of passengers standing on train journeys; and what targets have been set on standing in trains.

Derek Twigg: The Department for Transport does not hold information on the estimates for the number of people standing on trains. All train operating companies are required by their franchise agreements to manage crowding by ensuring that adequate capacity is provided to meet passenger needs as far as possible. All rolling stock has a nominal capacity. Under normal circumstances for journeys of 20 minutes or more, the capacity is taken to be the number of seats provided, and no passenger should need to stand for more than 20 minutes. For journeys of less than 20 minutes an allowance is made for no more than 30 per cent. of passengers to be standing.
	In addition, London and Edinburgh commuter operators are subject to specific standards for managing crowding in the morning and evening peaks. These are that the average number of passengers carried does not exceed the nominal capacity by more than 4.5 per cent. in either peak taken in isolation, or more than 3 per cent. for both peaks combined. The Strategic Rail Authority publishes data in National Rail Trends about the commuter operators' performance, and this is in the Library of the House.

Railways

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  which franchise he expects to be responsible for the Crewe to Derby rail service following the break-up of Central Trains;
	(2)  which franchise he expects to become responsible for services operated on the Birmingham to Nottingham route via Burton-on-Trent by Central Trains following the break-up of that company.

Derek Twigg: The Strategic Rail Authority has begun informal consultation with industry stakeholders including Passenger Transport Executives and local authorities. Specific proposals for the re-allocation of Central Trains' services to other franchises will be considered later in the year and consulted on before Invitations to Tender are issued.

Railways

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his latest estimate of rail use is in terms of (a) passenger miles and (b) tonnage of freight; and what the levels were for 1997.

Derek Twigg: The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			  199697 200304 
		
		
			 Passenger kilometres (billions) 32.1 40.9 
			 Freight moved (billion net tonne kilometres) 15.1 18.9 
		
	
	The number of passenger kilometres and amount of freight moved is published in the Strategic Rail Authority's National Rail Trends Yearbook 200304 (June 2004), reproduced in the afore mentioned table.
	Figures for the year 200405 will be detailed in the next Yearbook, due to be published 24 June 2005. A copy will be placed in the House Library.

Railways

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what public funds have been made available in each of the last three years to maintain the track from (a) London to Reading, (b) Reading to Exeter and (c) Exeter to Plymouth; and what steps he is taking to ensure that Railtrack maintains the rails to the West Country to a sufficient specification to enable high-speed trains (a) to run from London to Plymouth daily in under three hours and (b) to keep to schedule.

Derek Twigg: Network Rail is a private sector company, and so it is not for a Government Department to direct how it spends the money available to it at a local level. However, through a combination of the service specifications in the franchise agreements between the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) and the train operators, the train operating companies' track access agreements with Network Rail to deliver these, Network Rail's duties under condition 7 of its Network Licence and the network outputs specified in the Office of Rail Regulation's review of Network Rail's access charges, a commercial and regulatory framework exists to ensure that the network is maintained at an appropriate standard.
	Network Rail's planned expenditure on the Reading-Penzance Route is set out in its 2005 Business Plan Route Plans' document, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
	The Route Utilisation Strategy for the Great Western route will be published shortly by the SRA. This strategy, which extends to 2012, does not envisage any reduction in the capability of the Great Western Mainline.

Railways

Alan Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many prosecutions for trespass on railways in the UK there were in each of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: The British Transport police advise that the total numbers of prosecutions for trespass on the railway in England and Wales for the past five years are as follows:
	
		
			 As at 1 April to 31 March: Trespass prosecutions 
		
		
			 200001 457 
			 200102 740 
			 200203 675 
			 200304 802 
			 200405 687 
		
	
	The British Transport police does not hold data on Scottish prosecutions. The British Transport police does not police the railways in Northern Ireland.

Railways

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of railway track have been replaced in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Network Rail advises that for each year between 200001 and 200405 the total length of track where re-railing has been carried out is as follows:
	
		
			  Total track re-laid in miles 
		
		
			 200001 661 
			 200102 611 
			 200203 628 
			 200304 871 
			 200405 626

Railways

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on rolling stock levels (a) at the latest date for which figures are available and (b) in 1994.

Derek Twigg: In April 2005 there were 10,897 vehicles in use on revenue earning services operated by franchised train operating companies. At the time of rail privatisation there were 9,979.

Railways

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the economic effects of the rail sleeper service on Cornwall.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 20 June 2005
	None. The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) issued Invitations to Tender to bidders for the new Greater Western franchise on 2 June. The sleeper service is included in the timetabled specification that forms the Base Case, which means that each bidder will commit to provide it. Bidders are, however, being asked to cost running it separately to determine the value for money of operating these services within the new franchise and to allow an assessment of an option in which the current sleeper service are removed. In addition, they are being asked to propose more cost-effective ways of meeting the demand which the sleeper service accommodates.

Railways

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the future of the Night Riviera sleeping service from Paddington to Penzance.

Derek Twigg: The Strategic Rail Authority issued invitations to tender to bidders for the new Greater Western franchise on 2 June. The sleeper service is included in the base specification which means that each bidder must agree to provide it. Bidders are, however, being asked to cost running it separately to determine the value for money of operating these services within the new franchise.

Railways

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to remove the requirement for the night sleeper rail services to Edinburgh and Glasgow in the next round of tender bids.

Derek Twigg: Sleeper services between England and Scotland are part of the ScotRail franchise which was re-let on 17 October 2004 and will run until October 2011. Under the Railways Act 2005, the Scottish Executive will be wholly responsible for the ScotRail franchise from later this year.

Railways

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Government have evaluated the case for a high-speed rail link between South Wales and London.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 20 June 2005
	No. First Great Western currently operates high speed trains between South Wales and London with a maximum speed of 125 miles per hour. The Strategic Rail Authority has consulted on a Great Western Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy to determine the most efficient use of current network infrastructure. A final strategy will be published shortly.

Railways

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ensure that the level of on-board catering will be a consideration of the franchise document for the West of England franchise.

Derek Twigg: The provision and level of on-board catering will remain a commercial matter for the train operator. However, bidders are required to submit an on train catering plan with their bid which will form part of the evaluation.

Railways

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will ensure that account is taken of (a) the quality of the rolling stock, (b) the reliability of the engines to be used and (c) the speed of the journeys in evaluating the franchise bids from each operator for the Westcountry rail franchise;
	(2)  if he will ensure that account is taken of the number of trains that can maintain a realistic and punctual daily timetable in evaluating the franchise bids from each operator for the Westcountry rail franchise.

Derek Twigg: A key objective in letting the franchise is to improve operational performance and to sustain a level of service quality consistent with meeting customer needs. A service level commitment specifying a minimum level of service including maximum journey times has been developed with these aims in mind.
	Bidders are required to produce plans to improve current performance through better fleet management and demonstrate an efficient and effective use of the extensive range of fleet maintenance services and stabling facilities available within the Greater Western area in their bids. They may propose to refurbish or acquire alternative or additional rolling stock to meet these requirements. In addition, the Greater Western franchise will benefit from the replacement of the HST fleet planned to be in service in 2014.

Railways

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what consultation he has carried out with business leaders in Devon and Cornwall in assessing whether the night sleeper between London and Penzance should be included in the franchise documents for the Westcountry franchise; what research he has conducted into the effect of the withdrawal of the Westcountry sleeper on the economy of Devon and Cornwall; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will include in his rail tender documents for the South West a requirement to include the night sleeper service to and from Penzance; if he will provide a financial credit for those companies offering this service in their franchise bid; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: No assessment of the economic effect has been made as it would not be appropriate at this stage. The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) issued invitations to tender to bidders for the new Greater Western franchise on 2 June. The sleeper service is included in the timetabled specification that forms the base case, which means that each bidder will commit to provide it. Bidders are, however, being asked to cost running it separately to determine the value for money of operating these services within the new franchise and to allow an assessment of an option in which the current sleeper service are removed. They are also being asked to propose more cost-effective ways of meeting the demand which the sleeper service accommodates.

Road Congestion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made on reducing road congestion.

Stephen Ladyman: Significant progress has been made putting measures in place to tackle congestion. Since 2001 we have completed 29 major strategic road schemes. A further 13 major schemes are currently under construction, including widening of the M25 between junctions 12 to 15 around Heathrow.
	Uniformed Highways Agency Traffic Officers are now patrolling the motorway network in the West Midlands, having taken over some responsibilities from the police for clearing up quickly around incidents to keep traffic moving. The first of our new network of Regional Control Centres have taken over responsibility for Variable Message Signs from the police.
	Britain's first High Occupancy Vehicle (carpool) motorway lane will be trialled on the M1 between junctions 7 and 10 (St. Albans to Luton) in 2008, following widening of the motorway. As part of an Active Traffic Management pilot on the M42 corridor between junctions 3a and 7 to the south-east of Birmingham, variable speed limits became operational this spring, with other aspects of the pilot to follow in 2006, including hard shoulder running and access management. Both schemes will operate at peak times to help minimise delay and congestion for road users.
	Transport Direct, the Government's real-time travel information and journey planning service for public and private transport, was launched in December. Travellers can check as to the likelihood of delays and see whether choosing a different route, departure time or transport mode might suit them better.
	The Traffic Management Act 2004 gave local authorities a duty and new powers to do all that is reasonably practicable to keep roads clear and traffic moving. The Government consulted earlier this year on plans to introduce tougher regulations on streetworks by utility companies, including higher penalties for overrunning, permit schemes and bans on carrying out works on recently dug up roads.
	The Government have announced their intention to establish a Transport Innovation Fund to help local authorities develop local charging schemes.

Road Pricing

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the devolved administrations on road pricing.

Stephen Ladyman: The devolved administrations were represented on the Road Pricing Feasibility Study (published by the Department for Transport in July 2004), which recognised a number of issues which would need to be resolved were road pricing to be taken forward. In line with its manifesto commitments, the Government will examine the potential of moving away from the current system of motoring taxation towards a national system of road pricing. Officials from the Department for Transport maintain contact with officials from the devolved administrations in the course of business.

Transport Innovation Fund

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  when he will announce details of the operation and size of the Transport Innovation Fund;
	(2)  how much has been allocated in each financial year for which allocations have been made to the Transport Innovation Fund (a) in total and (b) to local authorities for transport projects;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the allocations which will be made from the Transport Innovation Fund to local authorities for transport projects in years for which allocations have not yet been finalised.

Karen Buck: Money from the Transport Innovation Fund will become available from 200809 and is forecast to grow from 290 million in 200809 to over 2billion by 201415. Allocations for each financial year have not yet been made.
	Further information about the aims and operation of the Fund will be published shortly. The Secretary of State has confirmed, however, that ultimately up to 200 million a year will be made available from the Fund to support local authorities implementing innovative solutions to congestion problems in their local area where these include demand management based on pricing.

Transport Policy (Wales)

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Government adviser on transport, Sir Rod Eddington, will consider any transport projects of specific relevance to Wales in his review of long-term policy.

Karen Buck: holding answer 20 June 2005
	Sir Rod Eddington will advise on the long-term impacts of transport decisions on the UK's productivity, stability and growth.
	The study will look at a range of potential transport decisions across the UK. Informed by a strong evidence base, advice will be provided on how these transport decisions may affect the productivity and growth of the UK economy over the next 30 years.

Public Transport (Lancashire)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many bus services are operated in Lancashire; how many were operated in each of the last two years; and what services are planned.

Karen Buck: I am advised by Lancashire county council that there are currently a total of 848 bus services operated in Lancashire. Of these 440 are school services. Figures for previous years are not available, but the council estimate that the current figure is a slight decrease. As the majority of bus services are provided on a commercial basis by operators, who make their own decisions on services provision, there is only limited information about planned future services.

Public Transport (Lancashire)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with Lancashire county council about transport needs.

Karen Buck: The Department for Transport and Government office north-west maintain a regular dialogue with Lancashire county council on a range of transport issues. We are currently discussing the development of their second local transport plan, a provisional version of which is due for submission on 29 July 2005.

Viaducts

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list rail viaducts in use which have exceeded their original planned end-of-life date.

Derek Twigg: This is an operational matter for Network Rail. Network Rail will respond directly to the hon. Member.

CABINET OFFICE

Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what arrangements are in place to ensure that bodies within the responsibility of his Department comply with the requirements of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.

John Hutton: The Cabinet Office produces and publishes a race equality scheme that sets out how it plans to meet the requirements of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. This scheme also covers the Government Car and Despatch Agency. The Central Office of Information has its own scheme.

TREASURY

Alcohol Deaths

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in respect of how many deaths in (a) Greater London and (b) Hornsey and Wood Green alcohol was the primary cause in each of the last five years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Ms Lynne Featherstone, dated 21 June 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking in respect of how many deaths in (a) Greater London and (b) Hornsey and Wood Green alcohol was the primary cause in each of the last five years. (5722)
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2004. The table below shows the numbers of deaths among residents of Greater London and Hornsey and Wood Green Parliamentary Constituency where the underlying cause of death indicated a condition directly related to alcohol use in the years 2000 to 2004.
	
		Alcohol-related deaths(7) to usual residents of Greater London and Hornsey and Wood Green parliamentary constituency, registered 2000 to 2004 -- Number of deaths
		
			  Greater London Hornsey and Wood Green 
		
		
			 2000 806 6 
			 2001 809 8 
			 2002 838 9 
			 2003 834 8 
			 2004 772 12 
		
	
	(7)For the year 2000 the cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9). The codes used by ONS to define alcohol-related deaths are listed below:
	291Alcoholic psychoses
	303Alcohol dependence syndrome
	305.0Non-dependent abuse of alcohol
	425.5Alcoholic cardiomyopathy
	571Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
	E860Accidental poisoning by alcohol
	For the years 200104 the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) was used. To maintain comparability with earlier years the following codes were used:
	F10Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol
	142.6Alcoholic cardiomyopathy
	K70Alcoholic liver disease
	K73Chronic hepatitis, not elsewhere classified
	K74Fibrosis and cirrhosis of liver
	X45Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol
	Deaths were selected using the original underlying cause.
	The selection of codes to define alcohol-related deaths is described in:
	Baker A and Rooney C (2003). Recent trends in alcohol-related mortality, and the impact of ICD-10 on the monitoring of these deaths in England and Wales. Health Statistics Quarterly 17, pp514.

Child Benefit (Family Reunion Scheme)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer under what circumstances it is possible for claimants who enter the UK under the family reunion scheme to be entitled to claim child benefit when one parent is a British national and the other is not.

Dawn Primarolo: Generally, a claimant is entitled to child benefit provided that he or she is present and ordinarily resident in the UK, and not subject to immigration control. In the case of a couple in which one of the partners is a British national and the other is not, then provided the foreign partner is not subject to immigration control, either partner is entitled to claim child benefit under child benefit legislation.

Child Trust Funds

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the potential financial effects of delaying investing Child Trust Fund vouchers by (a) a month, (b) six months and (c) a year.

Ivan Lewis: It is in the interests of children that parents use the Child Trust Fund voucher to open a Child Trust Fund account as soon as they feel ready to do so. The sooner vouchers are invested, the sooner Child Trust Fund accounts can start to grow.
	The loss resulting from a delay in investing the voucher depends on a large number of factors such as the value of the initial voucher, the type of account invested in and the rate of return on this. If parents, friends and family intend to make contributions once the accounts are opened, delaying will further compound the loss of growth.

Climate Change Levy

Paul Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 13 June 2005, Official Report, column 48W, on the climate change levy, what the yield in each year was from each of the other taxes introduced in the past 10 years indicating offsetting cuts in employers' national insurance contributions.

John Healey: The information requested for taxes for which there were offsetting cuts in employers national insurance contributions (NICs) is given in the following tables.
	
		Aggregates levy (AL) revenues and value of 0.1 percentage point cut in employers' national insurance contributions (NICs)
		
			   AL revenues ( million)(8) Value of 0.1 pp cut in Employers' NICs ( million)(9) 
		
		
			 200203 309 375 
			 200304 340 395 
			 200405 333 (provisional) 405 
			 200506 0.3 billion (expected) 425 
		
	
	(8)On accruals basis. Based on AL declarations on trader returns
	(9)Source: Based on HMT Tax Ready Reckoner
	
		Landfill tax (LFT) revenues and value of 0.2 percentage point cut in main rate of employers' national insurance contributions (NICs)
		
			 LFT revenues ( million)(10) Approximate value of 0.2 pp cut in main rate of Employers' NICs in 199798 ( million)(11) 
		
		
			 199697 (12)170  
			 199798 352 550 
			 199899 323 610 
			 19992000 442 (13) 
			 200001 476 (13) 
			 200102 508 (13) 
			 200203 538 (13) 
			 200304 638 (13) 
			 200405 668 (provisional) (13) 
			 200506 0.7 billion (expected) (13) 
		
	
	(10)On accruals basis. Based on LFT declarations on trader returns
	(11)Source: Based on HMT Tax Ready Reckoner
	(12)From October 1 996
	(13)Not available
	Landfill tax was introduced with an offsetting 0.2percentage point cut in the main rate of employer NICs from 199798. It is not possible to calculate the effects of the compensation for the landfill tax on employer NICs beyond 199899 due to structural changes to employers' NICs in 1999, which abolished the 'entry fee', replaced the series of four rates with a single rate and aligned the point at which individuals and employers pay national insurance with the personal allowance for income tax. It is not known what a 0.2percentage point cut in the main rate pre-reform translates to in terms of a cut in the single rate post-reform.

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter of 1 April from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire concerning inheritance tax.

Dawn Primarolo: The Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs have no record of having received the hon. Member's letter. A copy of it has, however, been requested and it will be dealt with as quickly as possible on receipt.

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance issued to assessors by the Valuation Office Agency for valuing residential properties in the council tax revaluation.

Dawn Primarolo: The valuation date is 1 April 2005 and considerable work of preparation is being undertaken by the Valuation Office Agency in readiness for the main valuation phase which is due to commence later this summer. Part of this preparation involves updating and developing guidance and training material for VOA staff. The council tax manual which is used currently by the VOA may be found on the website www.voa.gov.uk

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what make of computer-assisted mass appraisal the Valuation Office Agency will use during the council tax revaluation in England.

Dawn Primarolo: The Valuation Office Agency's intended use of computer assisted mass appraisal for the council tax revaluation in England were announced by press release dated 10 September 2004. Since April 2005 calibration of this new technology has been under way in preparation for the valuation task which has to be completed by September 2006

Household Debt

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average (a) unsecured debt and (b) annual income per person was in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Dr. Vincent Cable dated 21 June 2005
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on unsecured debt per person and annual income per person. (6018)
	The information requested is shown in the table below. The data for unsecured debt (households' total financial liabilities other than secured debt) and income (households' gross disposable income) used in the calculations are national accounts series for the combined household and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) sectors. The accounts for the household and NPISH sectors are currently combined; separate estimates are not available.
	For the denominator in the calculations the series used is Population aged 16+.
	
		Annual income and unsecured debt per person, 19972004 -- 
		
			  Annual income per person Unsecured debt per person 
		
		
			 1997 12,420 3,540 
			 1998 12,730 3,790 
			 1999 13,310 4,090 
			 2000 14,200 4,460 
			 2001 15,120 4,910 
			 2002 15,470 5,620 
			 2003 16,070 6,100 
			 2004 16,680 7,080

Departmental Relocation

Roger Gale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of his Department's posts (a) have been relocated and (b) are under consideration for relocationfrom London to the deprived areas of the south east.

Des Browne: The Chancellor's Departments are implementing the Lyons Review recommendations to relocate 5,050 posts out of London and the south east by 2010. This will not exclude consideration of relocating some posts to relatively deprived areas in the south east. So far, the Departments have not identified any posts suitable for transfer to deprived areas in the south east.

Statistics (Hornsey and Wood Green)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average earnings of full-time employees in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency were in April (a) 1997, (b) 2001, (c) 2002, (d) 2003 and (e) 2004.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Ms Lynne Featherstone dated 21 June 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question what the average earnings of full time employees in Hornsey and Wood Green Constituency were in April (a) 1997, (b) 2001, (c) 2002, (d) 2003 and (e) 2004. (5723)
	Average earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay whose pay was unaffected by absence during the pay period, by their place of work. This is the standard definition used for Annual Survey of Hours and Earning tables. The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings does not collect data on the self employed and people who do unpaid work.
	I attach a table showing the average gross weekly earnings for full time employees in Hornsey and Wood Green Parliamentary Constituency from 2001 to 2004. This data is also available on the National Statistics website on table 9:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/Product.asp?vlnk=l3101
	Data for Hornsey and Wood Green for 1997 is not yet available from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, and data from the New Earnings Survey has been suppressed due to quality.
	The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, carried out in April of each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It has a one per cent sample of all employees.
	The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings publication criteria ensure that all estimates are undisclosive. A number of estimates have been removed from the published tables for these reasons.
	
		Gross weekly earnings (), means and medians, for full-time employees in Hornsey and Wood Green parliamentary constituency, 200104
		
			  Number of Jobs (thousand) CV(14) Median CV(14) Mean CV(14) 
		
		
			 2001 14 (15)11.1 382.9 (15)8.3 438.6 (15)5.7 
			 2002 16 (15)11.1 398.1 (15)8.7 437.0 (15)5.4 
			 2003 16 (15)11.1 422.2 (15)8.3 466.0 (15)4.9 
			 2004 exc(16) 14 (15)12.2 422.1 (15)9.9 479.2 (15)5.4 
			 2004 inc(16) 14 (15)12.0 421.8 (15)9.7 474.4 (15)5.3 
		
	
	(14)Coefficient of Variationmeasure of the deviation of a variable from its mean.
	(15)Key to quality:
	CV}5%
	CV5% and }10%
	CV10% and }20%
	=unreliable
	. = unavailable
	.. = disclosive
	: = not applicable
	- = nil or negligible
	(16)In 2004 a number of supplementary surveys were introduced to improve the coverage of ASHE. Data is presented for 2004 both including and excluding these supplementary surveys. The data excluding supplementary surveys enables a direct comparison to 2003.
	Source:
	Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, ONS

Statistics (Hornsey and Wood Green)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many pensioners live in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Ms Lynne Featherstone dated 21 June 2005
	As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many pensioners live in Hornsey and Wood Green Constituency. (5724)
	Mid-year population estimates on pensioners are not available for Parliamentary Constituencies. I have therefore provided figures taken from the 2001 Census.
	The table below shows the number of pensioners living in Hornsey and Wood Green Constituency on Census day (29 April 2001). The figures have been extracted from Table CAS002 on the CD supplement to the Census 2001 Census Area Statistics for Parliamentary Constituencies in England and Wales, which is available on request from Census Customer Services (census.customerservices@ons.gov.uk).
	
		Pensioners living in Hornsey and Wood Green Constituency on Census day: 29 April 2001England
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 All people 107,033 
			 People of pensionale age(17) 13,039 
		
	
	(17)Pensionable age is 65 and over for males and 60 and over for females.
	Source:
	2001 Census Report for parliamentary constituencies

Statistics (Hornsey and Wood Green)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Hornsey and Wood Green (a) received (i) child tax credit and (ii) working tax credit and (b) were estimated to be entitled to each on the latest date for which figures are available; what the average monthly payment was in the last month for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: On (a) , estimates of the number of in-work families (broken down by families with and without children) in each region, local authority and constituency with tax credits for 200304 awards after finalisation appear in the HMRC statistical publication Child and Working Tax Credits Annual statistics. 200304 Geographical analyses. More recent provisional estimates for in-work families at selected dates in each such area appear in the publication Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics Geographical Analysis. The estimates are based on samples and are subject to significant sampling uncertainty. Both publications can be found on the HMRC website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc- geog-stats.htm
	On (b) , estimates of numbers of families entitled to child and working tax credits are not available at a regional level. Estimates of average awards on a monthly basis are also not available. Estimates of average payments in each region, local authority and constituency for 200304 awards to families with children at 5 April 2004 after finalisation appear in Child and Working Tax Credits Annual statistics 200304 Geographical analyses. The estimates are based on samples and are subject to significant sampling uncertainty. This publication can be found on the HMRC website at the above address.

Statistics (Hornsey and Wood Green)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the levels of long-term (a) adult and (b) youth unemployment were in Hornsey and Wood Green in each of the last eight years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Ms Lynne Featherstone, dated 21 June 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about unemployment in Hornsey and Wood Green in each of the last eight years. (5720)
	Table 1 attached shows the numbers of long-term unemployed (over 12 months) and unemployed persons aged 16 to 24 resident in the Hornsey and Wood Green Parliamentary Constituency for each 12-month period ending in February each year from 1998 to 2004, the latest period for which data are available. This is based on annual local area Labour Force Survey data which, as with any sample survey, is subject to sampling variability.
	ONS also compiles statistics of those claiming jobseeker's allowance (ISA) for local areas. Table 2 attached shows the annual average number of ISA claimants claiming for over 12 months and the number of claimants aged 1824 resident in the Hornsey and Wood Green constituency for each year from 1997 to 2004. The data in Table 2 are published on the ONS's Nomis website www.nomisweb.co.uk.
	
		Table 1: Unemployed people resident in the Hornsey and Wood Green constituency -- Thousand
		
			 12 months ending February Youth (aged 1624)  Over 12 month 
		
		
			 1998 1 n/a 
			 1999 (18) 2 
			 2000 (18) 1 
			 2001 2 2 
			 2002 1 1 
			 2003 2 2 
			 2004 1 1 
		
	
	n/a=Data not available.
	(18)Zero or disclosive sample size.
	Note:
	These estimates are based on very small sample sizes and are subject to a very high degree of sampling variability. Changes from year-to-year, especially, should be treated with caution.
	Source:
	Annual local area Labour Force Survey
	
		Table 2: JSA claimants resident in the Hornsey and Wood Green constituency
		
			  Annual averages Youth claimants (aged 1824)(19) All claimants for over 12 months(19) 
		
		
			 1997 1,030 2,205 
			 1998 830 1,520 
			 1999 680 1,370 
			 2000 575 995 
			 2001 520 560 
			 2002 610 545 
			 2003 665 605 
			 2004 685 605 
		
	
	(19)Computerised claims only.
	Source:
	Jobcentre Plus Administrative system

Statistics (Hornsey and Wood Green)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are in employment in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency; and how many were in employment in 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Ms Lynne Featherstone, dated 21 June 2005
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about employment in Hornsey and Wood Green Constituency. (5730)
	The number of people in employment, resident in the Hornsey and Wood Green Constituency for the 12 months ending 2004, the latest available period, is estimated at 53,000. The most appropriate corresponding figure, for the 12 months ending February 1998 is 49,000.
	These estimates are based on annual local area Labour Force Survey data which, as with any sample survey, is subject to sampling variability.
	The data are published on the Office for National Statistics Nomis(r) website: www.nomisweb.co.uk

Economic Forecasts

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from economic forecasting organisations concerning prospects for the UK economy over the next five years.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 6 June 2005, Official Report, column 300W.

Economic Forecasts

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to adjust his growth forecasts.

John Healey: The Government's latest assessment of economic prospects was set out in Budget 2005 (HC372). This assessment will be updated in the next Pre-Budget Report.

Retail Sector (Interest Rates)

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research he has evaluated on the effects of the level of interest rates on (a) retail sales and (b) the level of employment in the retail sector.

Ivan Lewis: Interest rate policy is the province of the Bank of England and it is not appropriate for the Government to comment on interest rate decisions taken by the independent Monetary Policy Committee. Commentary on the relationship between interest rates and the performance of the retail sector is contained in the Bank of England's May Inflation Report, (section 2.1, Why has consumer spending growth slowed?).

IR35

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the cost-effectiveness of IR35.

John Healey: The Intermediaries legislation, often referred to as IR35, is anti avoidance legislation and ensures that where individuals are working in a manner that would have been considered to be that of employment, had it not been for the use of an intermediary (such as a service company), they pay broadly the same amount of tax and NICs as a direct employee.
	No data is held on administration and employment costs relating solely to this legislation as it is policed as part of HMRC's general employer compliance activity. HMRC does not routinely collect data in respect of specific types of employer obligations from the PAYE system. It is therefore not possible to isolate the increase in yield to the Exchequer arising from this legislation alone.

Iraq

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Government's most recent estimate is of the cost of the British presence in Iraq in each month since the start of the conflict, broken down by (a) military and (b) reconstruction costs.

Des Browne: The Treasury does not estimate costs for Iraq in the manner requested.
	The Chancellor set aside 3 billion in Budget 2003 to cover the cost of operations in Iraq. In the PBR 2003 the Chancellor announced the remaining 2 billion of this special reserve would be carried forward to 200304. A further 500 million was set aside for the financial year 200304 and-a further 820 million for 200405 as a prudent allowance to cover Iraq and our continuing international commitment to the war on terrorism. In Budget 2005, a further 340 million was added to the special reserve for 200405 and 400 million for the special reserve in 200506.
	The Ministry of Defence drew down 847 million in 200203 and 1,311 million in 200304 to cover the net additional costs of operations in Iraq. They drew down a further 975 million for Operations in Iraq in Spring Supplementary estimates for 200405.
	At the Madrid Donors' Conference in October 2003, the Government announced a total UK pledge of 544 million towards the reconstruction effort in Iraq, of which DFID committed 380 million to date.

Iraq

John Gummer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has discussed with members of the Paris Club the implications for private individuals and small businesses of rescheduling Iraqi debt.

Ivan Lewis: The Saddam Hussein regime paid its creditors little or nothing since August 1990, when United Nations Security Council resolution 660 came into force. The Paris Club of official creditors negotiated a debt deal with the Iraqi Government in November 2004. This treatment sought to restore Iraq's debt sustainability and to tailor Iraq's future debt payment schedule to its capacity to pay. Iraq has committed to negotiate settlements with non-Paris Club creditors on terms comparable to the Paris Club deal. Private individuals and small businesses will therefore benefit from Iraq's new willingness to service as much of its debt as it can reasonably afford.

Iraq

John Gummer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with members of the Paris Club regarding the rescheduling of the Iraqi debt since 21 November 2004.

Ivan Lewis: Officials have had a number of technical discussions regarding the implementation of the Paris Club's agreement with Iraq since 21 November 2004. All creditor positions are given in confidence.

Iraq

John Gummer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Paris Club, while discussing the rescheduling of Iraqi debt, considered requiring the immediate payment in full to private individuals and small business creditors owed 250,000 or less.

Ivan Lewis: A core principle of the Paris Club is that all non-preferred creditors should bear their proportionate share of the costs of any debt reduction or rescheduling. The Saddam Hussein regime paid its creditors little or nothing since August 1990. Creditors of Iraq who are private individuals and small businesses will therefore benefit from Iraq's new willingness to service as much of its debt as it can reasonably afford.

Deaths

Brian Iddon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths have been recorded in the last 30 years which are attributable to magic mushroom use.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Dr. Iddon, dated 21 June 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths have been recorded in the last 30 years which are attributable to magic mushroom use. (6227)
	Available figures relate to deaths where the underlying cause was poisoning and a particular substance was mentioned on the death certificate, not the total number of deaths where the use of the substance in question was a contributory factor. The most recently available information is for deaths in 2003. Figures are not available prior to 1993 as this is the earliest year for which textual information is held on the Office for National Statistics statistical deaths database. Figures are shown in the table below for the calendar years 1993 to 2003.
	
		Number of deaths from drug-related poisoning,(20) where psilocybin was mentioned on the death certificate,(21) England and Wales, 1993 to 2003(22)
		
			  Number of deaths 
		
		
			 1993 1 
			 1994 0 
			 1995 0 
			 1996 0 
			 1997 0 
			 1998 0 
			 1999 0 
			 2000 0 
			 2001 0 
			 2002 0 
			 2003 0 
		
	
	(20)Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 292, 304, 305.2305.9, E850-E858. E950.0-E950.5, E962.0 and E980.0-E980.5 for 1993 to 2000, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-I0) codes FI1-F16. F18-FI9, X40-X44, X60-X64, X85 and YI0-YI4 from 2001 onwards.
	(21)Drugs mentioned on the death certificate of a death where the underlying cause was drug poisoning.
	(22)Data are for deaths occurring in each calendar year.

Deaths

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths there were in NHS hospitals in each year since 1997, broken down by month.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 21 June 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths there were in NHS hospitals in each year since 1997, broken down by month. (5942)
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2003. The number of deaths which occurred in NHS general hospitals within England and Wales are given in the table below by month for the years 1997 to 2003.
	
		Number of deaths in NHS general hospitals by month of occurrence of death, England and Wales, 19972003
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 January 35,138 26,353 33,500 35,103 28,244 30,452 28,624 
			 February 24,604 23,955 24,485 24,400 24,307 24,303 24,926 
			 March 23,758 26,110 24,904 23,891 26,536 25,863 26,595 
			 April 22,930 24,912 22,729 23,142 23,925 24,214 25,617 
			 May 22,854 23,441 22,408 22,605 24,023 23,585 24,830 
			 June 21,604 21,875 21,662 21,893 22,206 23,119 22,364 
			 July 21,660 22,246 21,480 22,252 22,482 23,103 22,903 
			 August 21,101 21,894 21,694 21,425 22,009 22,606 23,714 
			 September 21,464 21,786 21,202 21,175 22,357 22,599 22,637 
			 October 23,304 21,592 23,136 23,159 22,896 24,677 24,812 
			 November 23,395 23,729 23,141 23,589 23,696 23,984 26,645 
			 December 25,566 30,379 32,027 25,706 26,779 27,497 28,873 
			 Total 287,378 290,272 292,368 288,340 289,460 296,002 302,540 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures are for deaths occurring in the years 1997 to 2003.
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics.

Deaths

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths have been recorded connected to the MRSA bug in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in the last five years, broken down by age group.

John Healey: The information requested falls with the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Dr. Ashol Kumar, dated 21 June 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths have been recorded connected to the MRSA bug in Middlesbrough South and Cleveland constituency in the last five years; and how old the victims were. (5843)
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2003. Fewer than 5 deaths occurred in the five year period 1999 to 2003 to residents of Middlesbrough South and Cleveland constituency where MRSA was a contributory factor 1 As there were fewer than 5 deaths over this period an age breakdown cannot be provided.
	1 Identified using the methodology described in Griffiths C, Lamagni TL, Crowcroft NS, Duckworth G and Rooney C (2004) Trends in MRSA in England and Wales: analysis of morbidity and mortality data for 19932002. Health Statistics Quarterly 21,1522.

National Insurance Records

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many false national insurance records have been found in Coventry South in each year since 2000.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley on 6 June 2005, Official Report, column 294W.

Planning Gain

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Government's plans to introduce a planning gain supplement.

John Healey: As set out in the March 2005 Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report, the Government will respond to the recommendations in the Barker Review of Housing Supply later this year.

Population (London)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the population of (a) London and (b) Greater London has been in each year since 1975.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Lynne Featherstone, dated 21 June 2005
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the population of (a) London and (b) Greater London in each year since 1975. (6369)
	The attached table provides population estimates for Inner London, Outer London and Greater London. The population of Greater London (or London Government Office Region) is the sum of the populations of Inner London and Outer London.
	
		Mid-year population estimates: 1975 to 2003 -- Thousands
		
			  Inner London Outer London Greater London 
		
		
			 1975 2,815.7 4,363.3 7,179.0 
			 1976 2,755.5 4,333.6 7,089.1 
			 1977 2,705.0 4,307.0 7,012.0 
			 1978 2,658.4 4,288.4 6,946.8 
			 1979 2,617.6 4,270.0 6,887.6 
			 1980 2,587.4 4,263.2 6,850.6 
			 1981 2,550.1 4,254.9 6,805.0 
			 1982 2,520.8 4,244.2 6,765.1 
			 1983 2,517.9 4,235.1 6,753.0 
			 1984 2,523.4 4,231.3 6,754.7 
			 1985 2,531.9 4,235.1 6,767.0 
			 1986 2,536.6 4,237.6 6,774.2 
			 1987 2,540.6 4,224.9 6,765.6 
			 1988 2,526.7 4,202.6 6,729.3 
			 1989 2,542.2 4,209.3 6,751.6 
			 1990 2,571.4 4,227.4 6,798.8 
			 1991 2,599.3 4,230.0 6,829.3 
			 1992 2,598.1 4,231.3 6,829.4 
			 1993 2,601.7 4,242.8 6,844.5 
			 1994 2,612.4 4,261.2 6,873.5 
			 1995 2,628.6 4,284.5 6,913.1 
			 1996 2,656.4 4,318.0 6,974.4 
			 1997 2,672.4 4,342.5 7,014.8 
			 1998 2,699.2 4,366.3 7,065.5 
			 1999 2,750.7 4,403.2 7,153.9 
			 2000 2,804.9 4,431.8 7,236.7 
			 2001 2,859.4 4,463.0 7,322.4 
			 2002 2,891.9 4,479.4 7,371.2 
			 2003 2,904.6 4,483.3 7,387.9 
		
	
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics

Population (London)

Geoffrey Robinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the population of (a) London and (b) Greater London has been in each year since 1975.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Geoffrey Robinson, dated 21 June 2005
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the population of (a) London and (b) Greater London in each year since 1975. (5377)
	The attached table provides population estimates for Inner London, Outer London and Greater London. The population of Greater London (or London Government Office Region) is the sum of the populations of Inner London and Outer London.
	
		Mid-year population estimates: 1975 to 2003 -- Thousand
		
			  Inner London Outer London Greater London 
		
		
			 1975 2,815.7 4,363.3 7,179.0 
			 1976 2,755.5 4,333.6 7,089.1 
			 1977 2,705.0 4,307.0 7,012.0 
			 1978 2,658.4 4,288.4 6,946.8 
			 1979 2,617.6 4,270.0 6,887.6 
			 1980 2,587.4 4,263.2 6,850.6 
			 1981 2,550.1 4,254.9 6,805.0 
			 1982 2,520.8 4,244.2 6,765.1 
			 1983 2,517.9 4,235.1 6,753.0 
			 1984 2,523.4 4,231.3 6,754.7 
			 1985 2,531.9 4,235.1 6,767.0 
			 1986 2,536.6 4,237.6 6,774.2 
			 1987 2,540.6 4,224.9 6,765.6 
			 1988 2,526.7 4,202.6 6,729.3 
			 1989 2,542.2 4,209.3 6,751.6 
			 1990 2,571.4 4,227.4 6,798.8 
			 1991 2,599.3 4,230.0 6,829.3 
			 1992 2,598.1 4,231.3 6,829.4 
			 1993 2,601.7 4,242.8 6,844.5 
			 1994 2,612.4 4,261.2 6,873.5 
			 1995 2,628.6 4,284.5 6,913.1 
			 1996 2,656.4 4,318.0 6,974.4 
			 1997 2,672.4 4,342.5 7,014.8 
			 1998 2,699.2 4,366.3 7,065.5 
			 1999 2,750.7 4,403.2 7,153.9 
			 2000 2,804.9 4,431.8 7,236.7 
			 2001 2,859.4 4,463.0 7,322.4 
			 2002 2,891.9 4,479.4 7,371.2 
			 2003 2,904.6 4,483.3 7,387.9 
		
	
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics

Primary Schools (Portsmouth)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many primary school-aged children there are expected to be in Portsmouth in each of the next five academic years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 21 June 2005
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many primary school age children there are predicted to be in Portsmouth for the next five academic years. I am replying in his absence. (5228)
	Official 2003-based Subnational Population Projections for England were published by the Office for National Statistics in November 2004. Table 1 shows the projected mid-year population of 511 year olds for Portsmouth taken from these projections.
	
		Table 1: Portsmouth projected population of primary(23) school age children
		
			  Thousand 
		
		
			 2005 14.4 
			 2006 14.2 
			 2007 13.9 
			 2008 13.8 
			 2009 13.7 
			 2010 13.6 
		
	
	(23)Primary school age defined as 511 year olds
	Source:
	ONS 2003-based Subnational population projections

Regulation

Robert Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made in implementing the Better Regulation Task Force's recommendation of targets for the reduction in the amount of bureaucracy in his Department.

John Healey: The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in Budget 2005 the Government's acceptance in full of the Better Regulation Task Force's recommendations. The Chancellor published a Better Regulation Action Plan on 24 May 2005 which sets out details of the actions that the whole of the Government, including the Treasury, will take to implement these recommendations, and to implement the recommendations of the Hampton Review of regulatory inspection and enforcement. This stated that targets to reduce the administrative burden of regulation will be set by the 2006 pre-Budget report following a detailed exercise to measure the burden on business of administering regulations.

Revenue and Customs

Robert Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps are being taken to improve HM Revenue and Customs' internal processes for the repayment of overpaid taxes to (a) individuals and (b) businesses.

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs are regularly reviewing all their internal processes, including those relating to the repayment of overpaid taxes to individuals and businesses.

Tax Avoidance

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to prevent tax avoidance by the rich; and if he will make such steps a priority area for action by his Department.

Dawn Primarolo: For the tax system to be effective, everyone needs to pay their fair share of taxes. Tax avoidance undermines the ability of the tax system to deliver its objectives, imposing significant costs on society. The Government have always made it clear their determination to ensure that the tax system is fair and is seen to be fair. The Government have taken a series of steps to prevent abuse of the tax system including structural reforms that make the system less vulnerable, closing loopholes in the law and improving the way HM Revenue and Customs delivers its compliance function. Paragraphs 5.99 to 5.101 of the Budget 2005 Red Book set out a series of further steps to improve direct tax compliance, those measures are included in the Finance (No.2) Bill 2005.

Tax Overpayments

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the total amount of overpayments for each tax for which information is available in each year since 1997; how much has since been repaid; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs do not have an estimate of the amount of tax overpaid.
	Details of the amounts repaid by HM Revenue and Customs are shown in the trust statements, which are published as part of the departmental annual accounts. The annual accounts are available for access via the Internet on the HMRC website at www.hmrc.gov.uk/ or by purchase through The Stationery Office.
	The Customs and Excise figures are broken down into repayments of value added tax, alcohol duties, hydrocarbon oils, tobacco, betting and gaming, insurance premium tax, air passenger duty, landfill tax, climate change levy, aggregates levy, customs duties and agricultural duties.
	The Inland Revenue figures are broken down into repayments of income tax, capital gains tax, corporation tax, inheritance tax, stamp taxes and petroleum revenue taxes

Taxation

Robert Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for the freeze on (a) the company car levy, (b) corporation tax, (c) insurance premium tax, (d) air passenger tax and (e) capital gains tax implemented in his last Budget.

Dawn Primarolo: Details of changes in taxation were announced by the Chancellor at the Budget. The Government keep all taxes under review and any changes are considered and announced in the normal Budget process.

Taxation

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many persons in Northern Ireland were taxed on the basis of incomes of over 1 million a year before allowances (a) in the last year for which figures are available and (b) in each of the last 10 years.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates of the distribution of taxpayers by income would usually be derived from the Survey of Personal Incomes, but it is not possible to provide reliable figures for Northern Ireland due to sample sizes.

Taxation

Robert Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much Government revenue was raised from personal taxation in the Reading, East constituency in the last financial year for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: Information on regional or sub-regional income tax revenue statistics is not available pending a review of National Statistics on income tax and personal incomes. Further details of the review can be found on the HMRC website at the following page: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_tax/NS_Review. htm.
	Published National Statistics on Parliamentary Constituencies can be found on the HM Revenue and Customs website: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_distribution/table-315.xls.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Benefit Claimants (Part-time Earnings)

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people declared part-time earnings while claiming (a) jobseeker's allowance and (b) income support in each of the lastfive years.

James Plaskitt: The information is in the following table.
	
		Income support (IS) under 60 and income-based jobseekers allowance (JSA(IB)) recipients with income declared from part-time/self-employed part-time earnings: Great Britain
		
			 November All IS/JSA(IB) IS JSA(IB) 
		
		
			 2000 111,000 80,900 30,100 
			 2001 101,600 79,700 21,900 
			 2002 97,400 77,600 19,800 
			 2003 91,900 73,500 18,400 
			 2004 77,400 64,200 13,200 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.
	2.Figures include claimants with part-time earnings and self-employed part-time earnings.
	3.Figures include claimants in receipt of income-based JSA who would also be entitled to the contributory JSA element.
	4.Figures are cases where the claimant or the partner declares part-time/self employed part-time earnings.
	5.IS figures refer to cases where the claimant and partner (if applicable) are both under 60 i.e. figures exclude minimum income guarantee cases to be consistent with the IS figures post-October 2003.
	Source:
	Information Directorate, 5 per cent. samples

Pensions

Ian Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps the Pension Service is taking to provide accurate pension forecasts.

Stephen Timms: The Pension Service provides State Pension forecasts based on the information held by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs on an individual's National Insurance (NI) contribution record and, where appropriate, information provided by the customer when they request a forecast. A pension forecast, of any kind, is an estimate of future pension entitlement, not a guarantee.
	The calculation of all pension forecasts is based upon current pensions legislation.

Pensions

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the pensions regulator has inherited all the functions and duties previously undertaken by the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority and the Occupational Pensions Board.

Stephen Timms: Section 7 of the Pensions Act 2004 transferred all the existing functions of the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (OPRA) to the Pensions Regulator with the exception of responsibility for the Pension Tracing Service which transferred to the Department for Work and Pensions on 6 April 2005.
	As well as inheriting Opra's powers the Pensions Regulator will also have a range of new or increased powers to assist it in fulfilling its statutory objectives andfunctions as specified in the Pensions Act 2004protecting members' benefits by making use of enhanced information-gathering powers to implement its risk-based approach to regulation.
	The Occupational Pensions Board was replaced by the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority from 6 April 1997.

Social Security Office (Bournemouth)

John Butterfill: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact on (a) employees and (b) users of the Social Security Office in Cotlands Road, Bournemouth of its proposed closure as a processing centre; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Acting Chief Executive, Leslie Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie to Sir John Butterfill, dated 21 June 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning the impact upon employees and customers, with regard to the decision taken not to locate a Benefit Processing Centre at the Social Security Office situated in Cotlands Road, Bournemouth. This falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	It may be helpful if I explain that matters concerning the location of Benefit Processing Centres and the subsequent redeployment of staff are part of a nationally driven agenda to centralise benefit processing in 77 locations across the country. Ican confirm that the management team for the Dorset and Somerset District are adhering closely to the Department for Work and Pensions Workforce Management Guidance' which provides a clear process to follow.
	The Benefit Processing Management Team is currently working to re-deploy all staff in the vicinity. It is their expectation that there will be sufficient vacancies available within the Contact Centre sited in Poole, the Benefit Processing Centre to be located in Totton and in other government departments within the area. All staff will shortly have individual meetings with their line managers in order to discuss their own personal circumstances and needs, and to discuss any issues around relocation to other sites. Support for staff in coming to terms with the changes will be provided by Carefirst (soon to be replaced by Corecare from 1 July 2005) should it be required.
	There is no expectation that the decision to locate benefit processing outside Bournemouth will have any adverse effect upon customer service. The processing centres will be providing 0845 local call rate numbers in order that customers are not disadvantaged by location, along with a 'freephone' number for Social Fund Crisis loan customers. Our face-to-face contact with customers will continued unchanged via the Jobcentre Plus Local Service Outlets.
	You have my assurance that the decision taken not to base one of the 77 Processing Centres in Bournemouth was made following consideration of all of the facts and mindful of the impact upon both the staff and the customers at that location.
	Bournemouth was not included in the list of those selected to deliver this service for several reasons. These include the difficulties identified with regard to estate issues, staff turnover rates and the re-deployment opportunities for benefit processing staff within the locality.
	I hope this is helpful.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Africa

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2005, Official Report, columns 23W, on Africa, if he will rank African countries according to the measure of relative poverty in his Department's financial model.

Hilary Benn: The Department for International Development uses a financial model to help inform decisions on bilateral aid allocation to its programmes in low-income countries in each region. The model takes account of both the extent of a country's poverty and the likely effectiveness of aid in reducing poverty there. The amount of aid which a country is likely to receive from other donors is also taken into account.
	Within the part of the model that takes account of the extent of a country's poverty, gross national income per capita, converted to dollars using purchasing power parity rates, is used as a proxy indicator of relative poverty. This data is drawn from the World Bank's World Development Indicators database.
	The following table ranks African countries according to this measure. Data is shown for 2003, the latest year for which information is currently available.
	
		
			 Country GNI per capita 2003 ($, PPP) 
		
		
			 Sierra Leone 530.00 
			 Malawi 590.00 
			 Tanzania 620.00 
			 Burundi 630.00 
			 Congo, Democratic Republic 660.00 
			 Guinea-Bissau 680.00 
			 Ethiopia 710.00 
			 Congo, Republic 730.00 
			 Madagascar 800.00 
			 Niger 830.00 
			 Zambia 850.00 
			 Nigeria 900.00 
			 Mali 960.00 
			 Eritrea 1,020.00 
			 Kenya 1,030.00 
			 Mozambique 1,060.00 
			 Central African Republic 1,080.00 
			 Chad 1,080.00 
			 Benin 1,110.00 
			 Burkina Faso 1,170.00 
			 Rwanda 1,290.00 
			 Co(r)te d'Ivoire 1,400.00 
			 Uganda 1,430.00 
			 Senegal 1,620.00 
			 Togo 1,640.00 
			 Comoros 1,720.00 
			 Gambia, The 1,740.00 
			 Sudan 1,760.00 
			 Mauritania 1,870.00 
			 Angola 1,910.00 
			 Cameroon 1,990.00 
			 Guinea 2,080.00 
			 Djibouti 2,140.00 
			 Ghana 2,190.00 
			 Lesotho 3,100.00 
			 Egypt, Arab Republic 3,940.00 
			 Morocco 3,940.00 
			 Swaziland 4,850.00 
			 Cape Verde 5,130.00 
			 Gabon 5,500.00 
			 Algeria 5,930.00 
			 Namibia 6,660.00 
			 Tunisia 6,850.00 
			 Botswana 8,370.00 
			 South Africa 10,130.00 
			 Mauritius 11,280.00 
			 Equatorial Guinea n/a 
			 Liberia n/a 
			 Libya n/a 
			 Vlayotte n/a 
			 Sao Tome and Principe n/a 
			 Seychelles n/a 
			 Somalia n/a 
			 Zimbabwe n/a 
		
	
	Source:
	World Development Indicators 2005

Algeria

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid the Government have given to Algeria since 1992.

Hilary Benn: From 199293 to 200405 inclusive, the Government have given Algeria 36.2 million in bilateral aid. This includes 34.4 million of CDC investments in 200304 when there were two large investments of 12 million and 19 million.
	In addition, the UK's imputed share of EC aid to Algeria over the period 1992 to 2002 inclusive is 69.9 million.

Tsunami

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  how much of the Government's aid for victims of the Asian tsunami (a) has been spent and (b) remains held in reserve;
	(2)  how projects working with victims of the Asian tsunami may apply for funding from the aid allocated by the UK Government;
	(3)  if he will list the projects on which UK Government aid for the Asian tsunami has been spent;
	(4)  on what UK Government aid for victims of the Asian tsunami has been spent; and through which agencies.

Gareth Thomas: Nearly 67 million out of the 75 million allocated to meet immediate relief needs has been programmed through United Nations agencies, the Red Cross Movement and non-governmental organisations and DFID direct action. So far 60 million of this has been disbursed. The balance will be drawn down by the recipient agencies as needed. The balance of the 75 million allocation has been earmarked for disaster risk reduction initiatives in affected countries.
	DFID has also allocated up to 65 million to meet reconstruction needs. These funds will be channelled through trust funds managed by the affected governments, as the best way to ensure an effective and co-ordinated response to needs. Organisations wishing to apply for support to reconstruction projects should approach the relevant government department directly. As all of the money allocated to meet immediate relief needs has either been programmed or is committed, it is no longer possible for organisations to apply to DFID for this assistance. I have arranged for the document entitled 'A Breakdown of DFID's Immediate Relief Assistance in Response to The Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami' to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Colombia

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in the Narino region of Colombia.

Gareth Thomas: DFID is aware of the displacement of around 1,000 people in Narino State over the past three months following fighting between security forces and illegal armed groups. DFID has consulted the United Nations high commission for refugees (UNHCR) about needs and possible support. The UNHCR are continuing to monitor the situation and while they have raised the need to improve the access of displaced to humanitarian assistance they have advised that at this time they are not appealing for funds.

Forests

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what net percentage of forest cover worldwide has been lost since 1990; and what acreage this represents, broken down by country.

Gareth Thomas: The net percentage of forest cover lost worldwide between 1990 and 2000 was 2.37 per cent. This represents the change in forest cover over the ten-year period to 2000 and is the most up-to-date global assessment of forest resources.
	In terms of acreage, this represents a total worldwide loss in forest cover of 232, 214,811 acres (93,974,000 hectares).
	Forest cover data for individual countries may be found in the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000 main report. This is published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and is available online via the following web link: http://www.fao.org/forestry/fo/fra/main/index.isp.
	Please see as follows, a table summarising the current global data available for forest resources by region.
	
		Forest resources by region
		
			   Forest area 2000  
			  Land area Natural forest Forest plantation   Total forest  Area change 19902000 (total forest) 
			 Region Ha Ha Ha Ha Percentage Ha/capita Ha/year Percentage 
		
		
			 Africa 2,978,394 641,830 8,036 649,866 21.8 0.8 -5,262 -0.8 
			 Asia 3,084,746 431,946 115,847 547,793 17.8 0.2 -364 -0.1 
			 Europe 2,259,957 1,007 236 32,015 1,039,251 46.0 1.4 881 0.1 
			 North and Central America and  the Caribbean 2,136,966 531, 771 17,533 549,304 25.7 1.1 -570 -0.1 
			 Oceania 849, 096 194,775 2,848 197,623 23.3 6.6 -365 -0.2 
			 South America 1,754, 741 875,163 10,455 885,618 50.5 2.6 -3 .711 -0.4 
			 Total world 13,063,900 3,682,722 186,733 3,869,455 29.6 0.6 -9,391 -0.2

Ministerial Meetings (EU Trade Commissioner)

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the EU Trade Commissioner on (a) UK policy towards the G8 talks, (b) the UN Millennium Development Council, (c) trade talks during the UK's EU presidency and (d) the forthcoming World Trade Organisation's talks in China this December.

Hilary Benn: I have held discussions with both the Trade and Development Commissioners about the significance of trade for development, including our hopes for the G8 summit, the Millennium Review Summit and the World Trade Organisation Ministerial in December, where we will continue to work closely with the European Commission to achieve our shared objective, namely an outcome that delivers real development gains for the world's poor. The Department for International Development also has regular discussions with officials at all levels in the Trade Directorate, as well as those responsible for Trade issues in the Development and Agriculture Directorates.

Laptop Computers

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost was of the use of laptops in that period; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: DFID currently has 1,409 laptop computers currently in use. These are all allocated to officials, none are used by Ministers or special advisors.
	DFID does not keep records of the number of laptop computers in use in previous years. The number of laptop computers purchased in each financial year since 1995 are as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Laptops purchased 
		
		
			 199596 57 
			 199697 185 
			 199798 121 
			 199899 125 
			 19992000 148 
			 200001 265 
			 200102 251 
			 200203 734 
			 200304 900 
			 200405 270 
		
	
	The numbers of laptop computers lost and stolen in each financial year since 1995 are shown in the following table. All losses and thefts of IT equipment in DFID are investigated and reported according to Government accounting rules.
	
		
			  Lost Stolen 
		
		
			 199596 0 2 
			 199697 0 2 
			 199798 0 2 
			 199899 0 0 
			 19992000 0 3 
			 200001 0 8 
			 200102 0 3 
			 200203 2 7 
			 200304 0 7 
			 200405 0 4 
		
	
	Laptop computers are used as an integral part of the DFID IT systems. It is not possible to separate the cost of use of laptop computers from other IT costs.

Nicaragua

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he has received concerning reports that the Nicaraguan Government has been allocating funds received from the IMF for poverty alleviation projects to service internal debts; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: DFID's office in Nicaragua has received representations from representatives of Nicaraguan civil society about the use of funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the Government of Nicaragua.
	The IMF does not finance specific projects. Rather, it transfers funds in support of an overall government budget that is consistent with agreements reached between that government and the IMF about what is needed to achieve economic stability and reduce poverty. The IMF's funds are merged with the government's own funds (e.g. tax revenue) and used to finance the planned expenditure as a whole, rather than any specific components.
	At issue are the appropriate levels of domestic debt servicing by the Nicaraguan Government (GoN) and the adequacy of expenditure on items that help reduce poverty.
	The representations made relate to two elements of GoN's internal debt:
	(i) Government backed deposits in several banks that collapsed after fraudulent mismanagement a few years ago under the Arnoldo Aleman administration; and
	(ii) bonds issued to pay US citizen property owners for property confiscated under the land reform of the 1980s.
	Payment of these debts, and the associated legislation to enable stronger regulation of the banking sector, are required if Nicaragua is to be able to create a climate where sustained poverty reduction and economic growth can take place. Furthermore, they have not prevented the Government of Nicaragua from increasing expenditure on poverty reducing programmes from 10.8 per cent. of Gross National Product in 2003 to 12.2 per cent. in 2004. The Government's budget for 2005 continues this trend. However, the National Assembly have allocated increased expenditure to a range of subsidies, many of which do not reduce poverty, which threaten macro-economic stability and the Government's ability to maintain its plans to increase poverty reducing expenditure.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Audiologists

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans there are to increase the number of audiologists in the Province.

Shaun Woodward: The recruitment of staff, including audiologists, is a matter for individual health and social services trusts taking into account factors such as service needs and available resources. However, during the 200304 financial year, the Department provided funding for additional audiologists and it has been confirmed that 14.5 additional posts were created and these have been filled.
	The position will be monitored through the Department's ongoing work force planning mechanism.

Government Circulars

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what equality impact assessment was conducted on Circular HSS (Gen) (2) 2005.

Shaun Woodward: Circular HSS (Gen) (2) 2005 was not subjected to an equality impact assessment. The information contained in that circular replicates the public holidays in Northern Ireland as published by the Department of Trade and Industry.

Community Hospitals

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to expand community hospital provision in Northern Ireland; and how much funding was provided to each community hospital in Northern Ireland in each of the past three years.

Shaun Woodward: The development of community hospital provision is central to our plans for the modernisation of hospital services. The new local hospital in Downpatrick is scheduled to open in 2008; business cases for new local hospitals in a number of other locations are being prepared. In addition we are taking forward plans to modernise the primary and community care infrastructure to improve further the quality and range of service available within local communities.
	Departmental funding is allocated to health and social services boards under an agreed capitation formula, which recognises the healthcare needs of the populations within each board area. It is for boards to allocate their resources to meet health and social care priorities within their own board area. Details of allocations to specific community hospitals are not, therefore, collected centrally.

Complaints Procedure (NHS/Care Homes)

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the complaints procedure is for those in (a) private care homes and (b) NHS facilities in the Province.

Shaun Woodward: The information is as follows:
	(a) Independent homes have a regulatory requirement to provide advice to all residents (including private residents) on how to make a complaint and who to contact outside the home if they remain dissatisfied. The complaints procedure for a resident placed in an independent home by an Health and Social Services Trust is the Health and Personal Social Services (HPSS) Complaints procedure entitled: Complaints Listening ... Acting ... Improving: Guidance on Handling HPSS Complaints: Hospital and Community Health and Social Services issued 2000.
	(b) The same complaints procedure is available to a resident in a statutory home.

Creagh Youth Centre

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the South Eastern Education and Library Board (SEELB) was paid by Castlereagh borough council for Creagh Youth Centre; and whether the SEELB has claimed the whole sum due to it from Castlereagh borough council.

Angela Smith: No capital monies have yet been paid by Castlereagh borough council to the South-Eastern Education and Library Board for Cregagh Youth Centre and, therefore, their full contribution of 400,000 towards total capital costs of approximately 800,000 remains outstanding.

Digital Hearing Aids

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost of providing a digital hearing aid on the NHS in the Province is, broken down by (a) assessment, (b) fitting, (c) follow-up and (d) purchase of the aid.

Shaun Woodward: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Early-years Education

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many free (a) nursery and (b) pre-school places were available for (i) three and (ii)four-year-olds in the Province in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: The number of places in the statutory nursery and voluntary/private sectors in each of the last five academic years was as follows:
	
		
			  Academic year  Nursery places Voluntary/private places 
		
		
			 200001 12,148 4409 
			 200102 13,292 6000 
			 200203 14,280 6034 
			 200304 14,280 6093 
			 200405 14,150 5968 
		
	
	Pre-school places in the statutory sector are, as has been the case since the early 1970s, open to children from two-years-old to the lower limit of compulsory school age. In all cases, however, applications from children in their immediate pre-school year are given priority ahead of younger children. The funded provision secured in the voluntary/private sector is only open to children in their immediate pre-school year (children aged between three-years and two-months and four-years and two-months). The regulations made by the Department of Education require providers, in allocating funded pre-school places, to give priority to specified target groups. One of the specified target groups is the oldest children in the final pre-school cohort (those with July and August birthdays) who are the only children who are actually aged four when they enter their final pre-school year.

English as an Additional Language

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will earmark specific funding for the delivery of English as an Additional Language service.

Angela Smith: Each of the five Education and Library Boards (ELBs) has already received earmarked funding from the Department on a per capita basis to help meet the needs of pupils in respect of English as an Additional Language (EAL). The Department's total earmarked budget is 420,000 for the 200506 financial year.
	In addition, DE has increased overall EAL funding, by introducing in 200506 within the Local Management of Schools (LMS) Common Funding Formula a specific factor which provides support to schools for each EAL pupil. This factor provides some 1.7 million to schools across the five ELBs in recognition of the additional costs associated with EAL pupils which are encountered at school level. It is designed to enhance the level of support for EAL pupils. This forms part of the total funding made available to all schools under the LMS delegated funding arrangements and decisions on how to use this funding are a matter for individual Boards of Governors.

Invest Northern Ireland

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many employees working for Invest Northern Ireland are in pay bands of (a) 70,000 and over, (b) 50,000 to 70,000, (c) 30,000 to 50,000 and (d) under 30,000 per annum.

Angela Smith: Invest NI staff fall into the following salary bands:
	
		
			 Salary bands Number of staff 
		
		
			 (a) 70,000 and over 6 
			 (b) 60,000-70,000 3 
			 (c) 50,000-60,000 15 
			 (d) 40,000-50,000 61 
			 (e) 30,000-40,000 159 
			 (f) 20,000-30,000 161 
			 (g) Under 20,000 261 
		
	
	Salaries for part-time staff (of whom there are 54) have been shown as the full time equivalent.
	Invest NI also engages a varying number of contracted staff, in its overseas offices and to deliver specific programmes in Northern Ireland. These currently number 44 and are separately funded. Invest NI has the following number of contracted staff in each of the salary bands:
	
		
			  Number of contracted staff 
		
		
			 (a) 70,000 and over 1 
			 (b) 60,000-70,000 0 
			 (c) 50,000-60,000 2 
			 (d) 40,000-50,000 7 
			 (e) 30,000-40,000 10 
			 (f) 20,000-30,000 11 
			 (g) Under 20,000 13

Language, Culture and Heritage Funding

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what public sector funding has been allocated to promote (a) Ulster Scots and (b) Irish Gaelic (i)language, (ii) culture and (iii) heritage in each year since 2001.

David Hanson: The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) jointly funds the Ulster-Scots Agency and Foras na Gaeilge, the Irish Language Agency. The Ulster-Scots Agency has a statutory remit to promote Ulster-Scots language and culture. Foras na Gaeilge has a statutory remit to promote the Irish language.
	The budgets allocated to the Ulster-Scots Agency and Foras na Gaeilge by DCAL since 2001 are detailed in the following table.
	
		 million
		
			Budget (STG)  Foras na Gaeilge (Irish Language Agency) Tha Boord o Ulster-Scotch (Ulster-Scots Agency) 
		
		
			 2001 2.53 0.97 
			 2002 2.64 1.07 
			 2003 2.850 1.155 
			 2004 3.224 (24)1.277 
			 2005 3.242 1.327 
		
	
	(24) The Ulster-Scots Agency received additional funding of 60,000 in 2004 from DCAL.
	Note:
	These figures are based on the calendar year.
	Estimated funding for the Irish Language Broadcasting fund and Ulster-Scots Academy for 2005 is detailed in the following table.
	
		2005
		
			  Estimate () 
		
		
			 Irish Language Broadcast Fund 3,000,000 
			 Ulster Scots Academy 500,000 
		
	
	Funding is also available from departmental mainstream programmes for projects, which may have an Irish or Ulster-Scots language or culture dimension, which cannot be separated from the primary funding objectives.

ME

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will provide funding for biomedical research into myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Shaun Woodward: Research into diseases like myalgic encephalomyelitis needs to be undertaken in specialised centres of excellence and co-ordinated at the national level. The R and D strategy for the health and personal social services, in common with other NHS R and D strategies, do not generally allocate funds for this type of research, but funding for research into myalgic encephalomyelitis has been made available from sources such as the Medical Research Council.

NHS Direct

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent steps he has taken to extend NHS Direct to Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: In Northern Ireland each of the four health and social services boards currently operate their own daytime telephone advice line. Out-of-hours providers for which each board is responsible deliver access to advice and services outside normal office hours. The Department is working with the four boards to consider further development of these services on a regional basis.

NHS Staff Assaults

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (a) how many incidents of violence were recorded against NHS staff in Northern Ireland in the last year for which figures are available, and (b) how many people were prosecuted as a result.

Shaun Woodward: The information is as follows:
	(a) There were 5,449 violent incidents against staff employed in the health and personal social services between 1 April 2004 and 31 March 2005.
	(b) Seven people were prosecuted as a result of these incidents and four prosecution cases are pending.

Obesity

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of (a) males and (b) females in the Province are assessed as (i) obese and (ii) overweight.

Shaun Woodward: The 1997 Northern Ireland Health and Social Wellbeing Survey provides the most recent estimate of overweight and obesity levels among adults aged 16-plus in Northern Ireland. The survey found that 48 per cent. of men and 32 per cent. of women were overweight, while a further 17 per cent. of men and 20 per cent. of women were obese. When combined, the survey found that 65 per cent. of males and 52 per cent. of females were either overweight or obese.

Olympic Bid

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport about the role Northern Ireland would play should the London bid to host the Olympic Games in 2012 be successful.

David Hanson: There is regular liaison with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in support of the London Bid and to maximise the opportunities for Northern Ireland who are also represented in the Nations and Regions Committee.

Olympic Bid

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of how Northern Ireland may benefit should the London bid to host the Olympic games in 2012 be successful.

David Hanson: If London wins the bid to stage the Olympic and Paralympic games in 2012 it will have the potential to leave a lasting legacy of community facilities across the UK and inspire greater participation in sport.
	The whole of the UK, including Northern Ireland, could also anticipate benefits through volunteering, hosting of pre-games preparation camps, increase in tourism, increased awareness of the benefits of participating in sport, economic and business procurement opportunities. I would also hope that competitors from Northern Ireland would participate in the games.
	In Northern Ireland a Regional Co-ordinating group has been established to raise awareness of the bid and to consider how to maximise benefits arising from a successful bid.

Education (Out-of-school Provision)

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proposals he has to support out-of-school provision in Northern Ireland.

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to allocate funding for the expansion of out-of-schools provision in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: There are no mainstream funds available to support an out-of-schools programme in Northern Ireland; such support could only be made from within the Northern Ireland block and at the expense of other services including mainstream classroom funding.
	My Department is, however, pursuing a number of developments along similar lines, such as full service (extended) schools, education action zones and provision within the Belfast Board area that will be supported through the Integrated Development Fund. All these envisage schools as the learning hubs of their communities, supporting and encouraging provision throughout the extended school day. Breakfast clubs, homework clubs, sports and a range of other activities are already offered in many schools before and after school hours.
	Under the PEACE II Programme extension 200406 out of school childcare provision and other activities can continue to be supported under Measure 1.5, Positive Action for Women.

Parades Commission

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much it has cost to operate the Parades Commission in each year since its formation.

Shaun Woodward: This information is readily available in the annual reports of the Parades Commission, which are available in the Library, or alternatively can be downloaded from the Parades Commission website, www.paradescommission.org, and detail the Commission's operating costs for each year since its inception.

Police Service

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the earliest date is by which he expects to be able to end the 50:50 recruitment procedure for entry into the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: In line with the recommendations of the Independent Commission on Policing, it is our aim to achieve, by 201011, a composition within the PSNI regulars which includes 30 per cent. from a Catholic community background. I am happy to say that we are well on target to reach this goal.
	The 50:50 recruitment provisions are subject to triennial review with the current order allowing for their continuation until 30 March 2007. Their renewal will be subject to a widespread consultation process and debates in both Houses.

Police Service

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will take steps to ensure that people employed by the Police Service in Northern Ireland as cleaning staff have the same terms and conditions of service after the review of cleaning services is concluded.

Shaun Woodward: The terms and conditions of service of cleaning staff is a matter for the chief constable however I am assured that the outsourcing of this function will be managed within the TUPE framework.

Pupil Behaviour

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children are defined as having behavioural problems in the South East Education and Library Board area; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: There were 1,477 children on special educational needs registers with emotional and behavioural difficulties attending schools and pre-school centres in the South Eastern Education and Library Board area in 200405.
	Information about the number of pupils with behavioural problems who fall below the threshold for inclusion on a school's special educational needs register is not held centrally. However, support for pupils into this category will be re-considered shortly. The Department is awaiting a report from Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI), on the operation and effectiveness of the Boards' Behaviour Support teams, which were established in 199899 to support schools in managing this group of pupils. The findings will inform a decision on the future direction of this service and whether a major review is necessary.
	The ETI issued another report in 2004 on Provision for Pupils with Severe Learning Difficulties and Persistent and Challenging Behaviours in Special Schools in NI, which highlighted problems in this area. DE has subsequently made available additional resources to the Boards to help address these issues.

Road Building

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many new road building projects in Northern Ireland are scheduled for the next five years; and what the anticipated cost of the construction is.

Shaun Woodward: The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Lady, in response to this question.
	Letter from Malcolm McKibbin to Lady Hermon, dated 21 June 2005
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question regarding how many new road building projects in Northern Ireland are scheduled for the next five years; and what the anticipated cost of the construction is.
	I have been asked to reply as this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service.
	Roads Service defines major road projects as those where the scheme costs are estimated to exceed 1.0m. These schemes are referred to as Strategic Road Improvements (SRIs). Roads Service manages the delivery of SRIs through the following programmes:
	Construction ProgrammeSchemes already under construction.
	Preparation PoolHigh priority schemes that Roads Service is committed to progressing through the statutory procedures of Environmental Appraisal, Direction Order (equivalent to planning approval) and Land Vesting. Preparation Pool schemes are expected to be implemented within the next 5 years or so (subject to clearing the statutory procedures, having a satisfactory economic appraisal and the availability of funds at the time).
	Forward Planning ScheduleSchemes that perform well when assessed at feasibility stage and which are expected to be implemented within the next 10 years or so (subject to clearing the statutory procedures, having a satisfactory economic appraisal and the availability of funds at the time).
	Therefore, schemes currently held in the Preparation Pool are the most likely to be implemented within the next 5 years (subject to clearing the statutory procedures, having a satisfactory economic appraisal and the availability of funds at the time). The table attached presents brief details of the 22 schemes currently held in the Preparation Pool, the cost of which is estimated to cost 476.7m.
	I hope this information is helpful.
	
		Major works preparation pool June 2005
		
			  Scheme name  Description Estimate ( million) 
		
		
			 M1/Westlink Widen 4.0 km M1 motorway and Westlink to 3 lanes in each direction with 2 new grade separated junctions 75.0 
			 M2 Crosskennan slips 2No. on-slips onto M2 at Antrim Area Hospital 2.0 
			 M2 Widening (Sandyknowes to Greencastle) Additional lane on the Belfast bound carriageway from Sandyknowes Junction to Greencastle interchange, also 3 lanes through Greencastle interchange in northbound direction, includes replacement of 3No. overbridges 29.0 
			 A1 Beechill to Cloghogue 12.1 km dual carriageway with GS junctions 102.0 
			 A1 Junctions 4No. compact grade-separated junctions at Hillsborough, Dromore, Banbridge and Loughbrickland 16.0 
			 A4 Dungannon to Ballygawley Dualling 20.5 km dual carriageway between Dungannon (end of dual carriageway) and Ballygawley roundabout, including 6 grade-separated junctions 102.0 
			 A4/A5 Improvements A4 Annaghilla3.2 km single carriageway realignment; A5 Tullyvar3.1 km single carriageway realignment 15.7 
			 Cairnshill Park and Ride Provision of 700800 space park and ride site with terminus building 10.0 
			 Skeoge Link (revised), Londonderry 1.9 km four-lane carriageway link road (25)5.3 
			 A6 Dualling (M22 to Castledawson Roundabout) 12.6 km dual carriageway either side of Toome Bypass (26)34.02 
			 A20 Frederick Street Link, Newtownards 0.3 km single carriageway link road 1.1 
			 A2 Broadbridge Dualling 6.75 km dual carriageway between Maydown Roundabout and City of Derry Airport (26)19.8 
			 A32 Cherrymount Link 1.1 km single carriageway link road 3.8 
			 A4 Henry Street/Sligo Road Enniskillen Additional traffic lane on approach to junction 1.1 
			 A55 Knock Road, Belfast 0.62 km four lane carriageway between Clarawood and Kings Road 4.3 
			 A514 Crescent Link, Londonderry 1.9 km dual carriageway (completing the dualling of Crescent Link) 4.6 
			 A29 Carland Bridge 1.3 km single carriageway realignment 4.0 
			 A20 Newtownards Southern Distributor 2.0 km link road from Blair Mayne Road South to Comber Road to Portaferry Road (25)1.5 
			 A5 Strabane Bypass Stage 3 1.0 km single carriageway bypass extension 2.9 
			 A26/M2 Ballee Road East 1 .5 km of dual carriageway with two slip roads 6.1 
			 A3 Armagh North and West Link Road 3.8 km single carriageway link road to the Portadown Road 15.4 
			 A2 Shore Road 2.4 km four-lane carriageway from Jordanstown to Greenisland. 21.1 
			 Total cost of Preparation Pool schemes 476.7 
		
	
	(25) Scheme estimate excludes developer contribution.
	(26) Scheme estimate at 2002 pricesunder revision.

School Buildings

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much investment in new school building in Northern Ireland there has been in each year since 1997.

Angela Smith: Since 1997, 201 major capital projects with an estimated capital cost of 1,044 million, have been announced for schools throughout Northern Ireland. This investment has been provided for the building of new schools, for major extensions and refurbishments of schools and for site purchase, where necessary. The figures represent the estimated capital costs of both conventionally funded and Public Private Partnership schemes and the spending takes place over a number of years following the announcement. The total investment is as follows:
	
		
			  Projects  million 
		
		
			 1997 10 23.1 
			 1998 11 63.2 
			 1999 16 67.1 
			 2000 18 72.2 
			 2001 29 158 
			 2002 31 167.6 
			 2003 43 270.8 
			 2004 43 222.2 
			 Total 201 l,044.2 
		
	
	A further sum of 55.6 million has been invested since 1997 for the construction and development of new Grant Maintained Integrated schools. A breakdown of the funding that was spent in each year is as follows:
	
		
			  New schools  million 
		
		
			 1997 3 7.7 
			 1998 2 10.5 
			 1999 2 11.4 
			 2000 1 8.6 
			 2001 0 2.0 
			 2002 2 5.0 
			 2003 1 7.2 
			 2004 1 3.2 
			 Total 12 55.6

School Exclusions

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many pupils were excluded from schools in the Province in each of the last 10 years; and what the reasons were.

Angela Smith: The information that the Department holds about the number of pupils expelled and suspended from schools is as follows:
	
		Number
		
			  Expulsions Suspensions 
		
		
			 199596 62 n/a 
			 199697 79 n/a 
			 199798 80 n/a 
			 199899 73 n/a 
			 19992000 83 n/a 
			 200001 80 4,740 
			 200102 76 5,099 
			 200203 70 5,282 
			 200304 71 5,485 
		
	
	The reasons for suspension have been collected from 200203 school year and for expulsions from 200304 school year. Both sets of information are available onthe Department's website at www.deni.gov.uk/facts_figures/education_stats/index_other.htm. However, the detailed suspension data for 200304 submitted by one of the five Education and Library Boards has still to be fully analysed. When this has been done in the near future, the information on the website will be updated.

School Exclusions

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the criteria are for determining eligibility for interface funding for schools in North Belfast.

Angela Smith: The criteria for selecting schools to receive funding was restricted to a small number of schools in the area which had been most affected by community difficulties, including on occasions violent incidents against both pupils and the school environment.

Small Businesses

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many small businesses given start-up funding by his Department in each of the past five years have since ceased operation.

Angela Smith: During the past five years, 746 businesses were offered start-up assistance, through schemes directly provided by Invest NI, and its predecessor agency the Local Enterprise Development Unit (LEDU). Of these, 57 are recorded by Invest NI to have ceased trading. The detail by year is presented in Table 1:
	
		Table 1: Number of business starts offered assistance directly by Invest NI, and LEDU
		
			  Businesses offered start-up assistance Number ceased trading 
		
		
			 200001 171 18 
			 200102 165 19 
			 200203 149 16 
			 200304 144 4 
			 200405 117 0 
			 Total 746 57 
		
	
	In addition to these, there were 10,895 new businesses provided with assistance through the Start a Business Programme (SABp) jointly administered by Invest NI and Enterprise Northern Ireland. Details for each year are provided in Table 2:
	
		Table 2: Number of businesses assisted through the SABp
		
			  Businesses assisted through the Start a Business Programme Ceased trading estimate 
		
		
			 200001 1,203 193 
			 200102 1,269 203 
			 200203 1,983 317 
			 200304 2,637 422 
			 200405 3,803 n/a 
			 Total 10,895 1,135 
		
	
	Evidence provided by a recent evaluation of the programme indicates that 1,135 of those assisted up to March 2004, will have ceased trading. Figures for 200405 are not yet available.

South Eastern Education and Library Board

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many job losses among (a) administration staff, (b) school crossing patrol personnel, (c) classroom assistants, (d) teachers and (e) other ancilliary staff will be incurred within the South Eastern Education and Library Board Area due to the cutbacks the board have initiated; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: Verifiable information is not available at this stage.

Special Educational Needs

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the primary causes of need of children in the Province with special educational needs are.

Angela Smith: The most prevalent causes of need in 200405 are as follows:
	
		
			  Number of children 
		
		
			 Moderate Learning Difficulties 20,295 
			 Speech and Language Difficulties 8,825 
			 Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties 6,942 
			 Dyslexia 3,837 
			 Physical Disability 2,244

Voluntary and Community Group Funding

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures he is taking to place the funding of voluntary and community groups and organisations on a more long-term and sustainable basis.

David Hanson: A number of Government initiatives have already moved to longer-term strategic investment in communities. Positive steps, Government's response to the report of the Task Force on Resourcing the Voluntary and Community Sector, gives a commitment that
	Government would actively promote a longer-term (710 year) outcome focused approach to programmes that significantly involve the voluntary and community sector.
	This move towards longer-term investment will require change both within Government and in the voluntary and community sector. To help the voluntary and community sector with this change, I have established a Modernisation Fund to promote change and strengthen the service delivery role of organisations. In addition, funding will be made available to support capital projects delivered through the voluntary and community sector which will help develop the physical infrastructure and asset base of the sector improving delivery of services on a more sustainable basis.
	The Department for Social Development (DSD), through its People and Place Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy, is providing a framework for a longer-term, seven-ten year, approach to delivering strategic objectives. However, longer-term outcome focussed funding will take time to achieve and needs to be considered in the context of the budgetary planning process. DSD monitor and evaluate performance in moving towards longer-term outcomes with regular reviews at least every three years.
	DSD continues to provide ongoing support to the voluntary and community sector this amounts to over 40 million across the next three years.

Hospital Waiting Times

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action is being taken to reduce waiting times for (a) orthopaedic and (b) orthodontic procedures in Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: While there has been some progress to reduce waiting times for orthopaedic and orthodontic procedures, I am still concerned at the length of time patients have to wait in Northern Ireland and I am currently considering actions to address this. I hope to make an announcement on this shortly.

Walk-in Health Centres

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to introduce walk-in health centres in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The functions of NHS walk-in centres, as established in Great Britain, will be provided in Northern Ireland by health and care centres, which bring together a range of primary and community-based care services into a 'one stop shop', and local hospitals, as defined in Developing Better Services. Work is currently in progress on the building of three of these centres in Belfast. Plans for a network of similar centres across Northern Ireland are currently being developed by HSS boards and trusts.

HEALTH

Ambulances (CCTV)

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which ambulance trusts use CCTV inside (a) all and (b) some of their ambulances.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not collated centrally.

Anti-depressants

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of patients under the age of 18 years have been prescribed anti-depressants in each of the last 10 years.

Jane Kennedy: Data from the Prescription Pricing Authority indicates that, in 2004, 192,000 prescription items were dispensed in the community in England for antidepressant drugs to children under 16 and young people aged 16 to 18 in full-time education. Data is not collected on the number of people for whom these prescriptions were dispensed, nor the proportion which they represent.

Anti-depressants

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice she has issued on the prescribing of anti-depressants to (a) children and (b) adolescents.

Jane Kennedy: No anti-depressant is currently licensed for the treatment of depressive illness in children or adolescents under 16 years of age.
	Based on the work of its expert working group on the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), the committee on safety of medicines (CSM) issued advice on the use of SSRIs in children and adolescents in June, September and December 2003. That advice was that the balance of risks and benefits for the treatment of depressive illness in under-18s is judged to be unfavourable for paroxetine (Seroxat), venlafaxine (Efexor), sertraline (Lustral), citalopram (Cipramil), escitalopram (Cipralex) and mirtazapine (Zispin). It is not possible to assess the balance of risks and benefits for fluvoxamine (Faverin), due to the absence of paediatric clinical trial data. Only fluoxetine (Prozac) has been shown in clinical trials to be effective in treating depressive illness in children and adolescents, although it is possible that, in common with the other SSRIs, it is associated with a small increased risk of self-harm and suicidal thoughts. Overall, the balance of risks and benefits for fluoxetine in the treatment of depressive illness in under-18s is judged to be favourable. This advice was reiterated in December 2004, when the report of the expert working group was published.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is developing a guideline on the identification and management of depression in children and young people in primary, community and secondary care, which is due to be published in September 2005.

Barnet Hospital

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on performance against targets for accident and emergency waiting times at Barnet hospital in (a) 200405 and (b) the last month.

Jane Kennedy: The information is not available in the format requested. Performance figures for Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital National Health Service Trust for 200405, giving the percentage of patients who spend less than fours hours in accident and emergency, are shown in table 1.
	
		Table 1
		
			 Quarter Percentage 
		
		
			 1 90.3 
			 2 92.7 
			 3 90.7 
			 4 93.3 
		
	
	The overall percentage for 200405 is 91.7.
	These are the latest figures available.
	These figures include a proportion of accident and emergency services which are provided by its partner primary care trust (PCT). 73 per cent. of Barnet PCTs performance is mapped to Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital NHS Trust.
	Table 2 shows the performance of the trust against various targets.
	The NHS target requires that at least 98 per cent. of patients spend four hours or less from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge from the end of 2004. The trust did not meet this target.
	A capital incentive scheme was launched in January 2004. Under this scheme, each trust that meets the five thresholds identified can access payments of up to 0.5 million. Four of these thresholds were in 200405. The performance requirements for each threshold are shown in table 2.
	
		Table 2
		
			 Threshold (percentage) Quarter Amount (capital) () 
		
		
			 Average   
			 95 Q1 100,000 
			 96 Q2 100,000 
			 97 Q3 100,000 
			 98 Q4 100,000 
		
	
	Therefore, the trust did not meet any of the thresholds.
	For the purpose of performance indicators, the Healthcare Commission set a target of 90 per cent. for the first three quarters of 200405. The trust met this target.

Cancer Mortality

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress the Government have made towards the 2004 public service agreement target to reduce cancer mortality in people under 75 years by at least 20 per cent.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 20 June 2005
	We are on course to meet the target by 2010. The latest information, for the three years from 2001 to 2003, shows a 12.2 per cent. reduction in mortality rates in people under 75 years against the 199597 baseline.

Clinical Trials Directive

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment her Department has made of theeffect that the Clinical Trials Directive has had on the length of time taken for clinical trials to be approved;
	(2)  what assessment her Department has made of the effect that the Clinical Trials Directive has had on the volume of paperwork and administrative work which has to be completed and submitted by researchers before a project is approved;
	(3)  under what procedure researchers wishing to conduct a clinical trial can have their application for approval fast-tracked by her Department.

Jane Kennedy: The Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004 No. 1031) that implement the European Union Clinical Trials Directive 2001/20/EC in the United Kingdom came into force on 1 May 2004.
	The regulations provide a statutory basis for the regulation of the commencement and conduct of clinical trials of medicines. Most of the provisions were part of existing UK clinical trials regulation. The regulations require a positive opinion from an ethics committee and an authorisation issued by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
	To achieve this, the regulations provided for the UK Ethics Committee Authority to recognise ethics committees and oversee the ethics review system. The regulations also provide for a single UK-wide opinion for multi-centre studies and set a defined time period60 daysand restrict previous time-consuming reiteration of correspondence passing between applicant and committee. This has streamlined previous procedures while reinforcing the protection of research subjects. Throughout the first year of these regulations UK ethics committees have operated well within the 60-day target.
	The regulations shortened MHRA's statutory response times to 30 days from 35 days and the Government agreed a pharmaceutical industry competitiveness task force performance target for response to applications for phase I trials of a mean of 14 days, with a maximum of 21 days. In the first year following implementation, the MHRA has met its deadline of 14 days for phase I applications and of 30 days for all other applications. The MHRA has no additional application process.
	For regulatory approval for pharmaceutical company trials, the documentation required under the new legislation is similar to that required under the previous system. Non commercial researchers have a simplified application procedure requiring an application form and protocol and minimal supporting data. This is similar to the procedure before the clinical trials regulations came into force. The new application form is the same for all types of trial and has been designed to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy. It uses check boxes rather than free text and typically takes 20 to 30 minutes to complete.

Clostridium Difficile

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS patients have been (a) infected with and (b) died from the clostridium difficile bacteria in each of the last five years.

Jane Kennedy: Complete information on the number of patients with clostridium difficile infections in the last five years are not available, but reports made under the Health Protection Agency's (HPA) voluntary reporting scheme are shown in table 1.
	
		Table 1: Voluntary reports of clostridium difficile infections diagnosed from faecal specimens for England, Wales and Northern Ireland
		
			  Number of reports 
		
		
			 2000(27) 20,556(28) 
			 2001 22,008(28) 
			 2002 28,986(28) 
			 2003 35,537(28) 
			 2004 43,672(28) 
		
	
	(27) 2000-England and Wales only.
	(28) Provisional data.
	Source:
	HPA.
	The only routinely available mortality statistic on clostridium difficile are those associated with enterocolitis, the most common illness caused by clostridium difficile infection.
	Table 2 shows total mentions of clostridium difficile enterocolitis and the number where it was also the underlying cause of death for 2001 onwards. Comparable figures are not available before 2001, because no specific code for clostridium difficile exists in the ninth revision of the international classification of diseases (ICD). The version of the ICD used to code death certificates did not include a specific code for clostridium difficile enterocolitis.
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is working with the HPA on a special study to identify the total number of deaths where clostridium difficile was mentioned on the death certificate.
	
		Number of deaths where enterocolitis due to clostridium difficile was mentioned on the death certificate and the number of these mentions where it was also the underlying cause of death(29), England and Wales, 200103
		
			  Total mentions Underlying cause 
		
		
			 2001 1,199 674 
			 2002 1,417 751 
			 2003 1,748 934 
		
	
	(29) Selected using the code A04.7 from the ICD, tenth revision (ICD-10).
	Source:
	ONS.

Dentistry

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the most recent Personal Dental Service conversion rates are, broken down by primary care trust area and expressed as a percentage of the total number of dental surgery addresses.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 9 June 2005
	The information requested has been placed in the Library. This shows the percentage of dental practice addresses at 31 May 2005 which have an open personal dental service (PDS) contractexpressed as a percentage of the total number of dental surgery addresses with either an open general dental service (CDS) or PDS contract. At 31 May, there were 5,845 dentists in PDS pilots. This was 28.9 per cent, of the total number of dentists in the GDS and PDS pilots.

Hepatitis C

Bob Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if her officials will discuss with the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health its data collection on hepatitis C in Scotland; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Departmental officials are in contact from time to time with officials in the Scottish Executive, who take advice from Health Protection Scotland (HPS), (formerly known as the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health) about a range of issues around hepatitis C, including data collection on hepatitis C in Scotland.
	I am aware that the Health Protection Agency, which is responsible for national surveillance of hepatitis C, is discussing with HPS ways in which reporting in England may be improved.

Hepatitis C

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what policy response she has formulated to the advice of the Chief Medical Officer given in the document Getting Ahead of the Curve published in 2002 relating to the treatment costs of hepatitis C.

Caroline Flint: The Department published its Hepatitis C Action Plan for England in 2004 to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C. Implementation of the action plan is being underpinned by an awareness raising campaign for health care professionals and the public.

Hepatitis C

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions her officials have had with the Scottish Executive concerning differentials in the rate of diagnosis of hepatitis C in Scotland and England; and if she will make a statement

Caroline Flint: holding answer 6 June 2005
	Departmental officials are in contact from time to time with officials in the Scottish Executive about a range of issues around hepatitis C, but have not had any specific discussions on the differential rates of laboratory reported hepatitis C diagnoses made to Health Protection Scotland (HPS) and to the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in England. However, we are aware that the HPA, which is responsible for national surveillance of hepatitis C, is discussing with the HPS ways in which reporting in England may be improved.

Hospital Hygiene

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps cross-infection sisters are taking to control infection.

Jane Kennedy: The role of the infection control nurses is defined in Hospital Infection Control, Guidance on the control of infection in hospitals, prepared by the hospital infection working group of the Department and the Public Health Laboratory Service in March 1995, which is available in the Library. The infection control nurse is responsible for surveillance, prevention and control of infection and has responsibility for ensuring policies and training are in place to secure effective infection control.

Hospital Hygiene

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1) what guidelines have been issued on the hygiene of interaction between patients, clinical staff and visitors in NHS hospitals;
	(2)  what guidelines are followed when isolating patients who contract infections in relation to contact between patients, clinical staff and visitors in NHS hospitals.

Jane Kennedy: Trusts have their own infection control manuals and these will include policies on the management of isolated patients and procedures to be followed by patients and relatives. These will be based on national guidelines and other evidence.
	The key guidance documents available on the Department's website include:
	Winning WaysWorking together to reduce Healthcare Associated Infection in England
	The epic project: developing national evidence-based guidelines for preventing healthcare associated infection; Phase 1: guidelines for preventing hospital-acquired infections
	National Institute for Clinical Excellence, Infection Control: prevention of healthcare associated infection in primary and community care
	Information on the management of infected patients is available on the newly created national resource for infection control website at http://www.nric.org.uk.

Hospital Hygiene

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether bedside Bibles have been removed in University Hospitals of Leicester NHS trust to stem transmission of infections between patients.

Jane Kennedy: Bedside Bibles are still available to patients at University Hospitals of Leicester National Health Service Trust. Although publications such as Bibles cannot be thoroughly decontaminated between patients, they are not a major source of infection.
	The national programme to tackle healthcare associated infections concentrates on reducing significant risks, for example, by improving hand hygiene.

NHS Staff (Assaults)

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many assaults have been recorded on ambulance staff in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested has not been collated centrally for the period 19992000.
	The table shows the estimated number of reported violent incidents against ambulance staff for 200001, 200102, and 200203. These estimates could represent a range of incidents from assault to verbal abuse and therefore do not accurately identify the true nature, scale and extent of the problem.
	
		
			  Total number of reported incidents in the year 
		
		
			 200001 3,882 
			 200102 4,778 
			 200203 5,283 
		
	
	In April 2003, the national health service security management service (SMS) was created and assumed responsibility for the issue of tackling violence against NHS staff. In November 2003, a new national reporting system for physical assaults against NHS staff was introduced. The SMS has begun a programme of work to identify the true nature, scale and extent of the problem of violence against NHS staff. Accurate information concerning physical assaults against NHS staff is expected to be available from summer 2005.

NHS Staff (Assaults)

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will estimate the number of violent incidents in ambulance trusts in the NHS in England in each year since 1997, broken down by trust.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested has not been collated centrally for the period 199799.
	The table shows the estimated number of reported violent incidents involving ambulance staff for 200001, 200102, and 200203 for each ambulance trust in England. These estimates could represent a range of incidents from assault to verbal abuse and therefore do not accurately identify the true nature, scale and extent of the problem.
	In April 2003, the national health service security management service (SMS) was created and assumed responsibility for the issue of tackling violence against NHS staff. In November 2003, a new national reporting system for physical assaults against NHS staff was introduced. The SMS has begun a programme of work to identify the true nature, scale and extent of the problem of violence against NHS staff. Accurate information concerning physical assaults against NHS staff is expected to be available from summer 2005.
	
		Estimated violent or abusive incidents in each NHS Ambulance Trust 200001, 200102 and 200203
		
			 Provider code Name 200001 200102 200203 
		
		
			 RB1 Avon Ambulance Service NHS Trust 17 31 163 
			 RFU Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Ambulance and Paramedic Service NHS Trust 45 48 75 
			 RE6 Cumbria Ambulance Service NHS Trust 13 34 54 
			 RHP Dorset Ambulance NHS Trust 55 39 72 
			 RMZ East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust 103 89 119 
			 RV6 East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust 161 233 290 
			 RB4 Essex Ambulance Service NHS Trust 18 28 66 
			 RB5 Gloucestershire Ambulance Services NHS Trust 7 30 60 
			 RMA Greater Manchester Ambulance Service NHS Trust 119 304 277 
			 RKD Hampshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 168 81 75 
			 RL5 Hereford and Worcester Ambulance Service NHS Trust 8 18 101 
			 RPH Kent Ambulance NHS Trust 59  55 
			 RMD Lancashire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 112 161 104 
			 RBX Lincolnshire Ambulance and Health Transport Service NHS Trust 46 67 86 
			 RRU London Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,425 2,158 2,211 
			 RB6 Mersey Regional Ambulance Service NHS Trust 75 60 67 
			 RVK North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust 544 229 167 
			 RNY Oxfordshire Ambulance NHS Trust 39 35 72 
			 RH1 Royal Berkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 46 39 33 
			 RB8 South Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance and Paramedic Services NHS Trust 96 173 52 
			 RB7 Staffordshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 30 26 78 
			 RPQ Surrey Ambulance Service NHS Trust 120 122 131 
			 RQ2 Sussex Ambulance Service NHS Trust 7 221 301 
			 RV1 Tees East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 87 105  
			 RHY Two Shires Ambulance NHS Trust 134 81 88 
			 RKA West Midlands Metropolitan Ambulance Service NHS Trust 171 154 186 
			 RGH West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service NHS Trust 68 65 183 
			 RL6 Warwickshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 14 37 39 
			 RJ9 West Country Ambulance Services NHS Trust 94 110 70 
			 RHR Wiltshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1  8 
			 Total  3,882 4,778 5,283 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health.

NHS Staff (Assaults)

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her Department's policy is on the provision of protective uniforms to ambulance personnel for protection against violent attack.

Jane Kennedy: The provision of protective uniforms is a matter for each individual national health service ambulance trust, based on a comprehensive risk assessment of the risks faced by their staff. A joint Treasury-funded project between the NHS security management service and the Home Office is currently evaluating the effectiveness of such equipment in helping to better protect ambulance staff. This is due to report later this year.

NHS Staff (Assaults)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many attacks there have been on ambulance officers and paramedics in each of the last five years, broken down by health authority; how many people have been successfully prosecuted for carrying out such attacks; how many prosecutions are ongoing; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 15 June 2005
	The information requested has not been collated centrally for the period 19992000.
	The table shows the estimated number of reported violent incidents involving ambulance staff for 200001, 200102, and 200203 for each ambulance trust in England. These estimates could represent a range of incidents from assault to verbal abuse and therefore do not accurately identify the true nature, scale and extent of the problem.
	In April 2003, the national health service security management service (SMS) was created and assumed responsibility for the issue of tackling violence against NHS staff. In November 2003, a new national reporting system for physical assaults against NHS staff was introduced. The SMS has begun a programme of work to identify the true nature, scale and extent of the problem of violence against NHS staff. Accurate information concerning physical assaults against NHS staff is expected to be available from summer 2005.
	Information relating to the number of prosecutions for those who have assaulted NHS staff was not collated centrally in any systematic manner prior to 200405. In 200203, there were 51 prosecutions against those who had assaulted NHS staff who could be identified by a Department of Health survey of NHS health bodies. Information relating to the number of successful prosecutions obtained against those who have physically assaulted NHS staff for 200405 will be available shortly.
	
		Estimated violent or abusive incidents in each NHS ambulance trust 200001, 200102 and 200203
		
			 Provider code Name 200001 200102 200203 
		
		
			 RB1 Avon Ambulance Service NHS Trust 17 31 163 
			 RFU Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Ambulance and Paramedic Service NHS Trust 45 48 75 
			 RE6 Cumbria Ambulance Service NHS Trust 13 34 54 
			 RHP Dorset Ambulance NHS Trust 55 39 72 
			 RMZ East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust 103 89 119 
			 RV6 East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust 161 233 290 
			 RB4 Essex Ambulance Service NHS Trust 18 28 66 
			 RB5 Gloucestershire Ambulance Services NHS Trust 7 30 60 
			 RMA Greater Manchester Ambulance Service NHS Trust 119 304 277 
			 RKD Hampshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 168 81 75 
			 RL5 Hereford  Worcester Ambulance Service NHS Trust 8 18 101 
			 RPH Kent Ambulance NHS Trust 59  55 
			 RMD Lancashire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 112 161 104 
			 RBX Lincolnshire Ambulance and Health Transport Service NHS Trust 46 67 86 
			 RRU London Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,425 2,158 2,211 
			 RB6 Mersey Regional Ambulance Service NHS Trust 75 60 67 
			 RVK North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust 544 229 167 
			 RNY Oxfordshire Ambulance NHS Trust 39 35 72 
			 RH1 Royal Berkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 46 39 33 
			 RB8 South Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance and Paramedic Services NHS Trust 96 173 52 
			 RB7 Staffordshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 30 26 78 
			 RPQ Surrey Ambulance Service NHS Trust 120 122 131 
			 RQ2 Sussex Ambulance Service NHS Trust 7 221 301 
			 RV1 Tees East  North Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 87 105  
			 RHY Two Shires Ambulance NHS Trust 134 81 88 
			 RKA West Midlands Metropolitan Ambulance Service NHS Trust 171 154 186 
			 RGH West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service NHS Trust 68 65 183 
			 RL6 Warwickshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 14 37 39 
			 RJ9 West Country Ambulance Services NHS Trust 94 110 70 
			 RHR Wiltshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1  8 
			 Total  3,882 4,778 5,283 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health

NHS Staff (Assaults)

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prosecutions for violence against the staff of NHS trusts have been taken out in each year since 2003; and what targets have been set by her Department to increase the number of incidents where the perpetrators are prosecuted.

Jane Kennedy: Information relating to the number of prosecutions for those who have physically assaulted national health service staff was not collated systematically prior to 200405, when the NHS security management service (SMS) introduced a national reporting system for physical assaults.
	In 200203, there were 51 prosecutions against those who had assaulted NHS staff who could be identified by a Department of Health survey of NHS health bodies. Information relating to the number of successful prosecutions obtained against those who have physically assaulted NHS staff for 200405 will be available shortly.
	No targets for increasing the number of prosecutions obtained against those who assault NHS staff have been set. A developing network of local security management specialists across the NHS, supported by the SMS, will provide stronger local liaison with the police and the Crown Prosecution Service and ensure that all incidents of violence against staff are properly investigated and prosecuted, where that is appropriate and in the public interest.
	A Memorandum of Understanding with the Association of Chief Police Officers will be agreed by autumn this year. This will ensure that the responsibilities, in relation to tackling violence, of health bodies, the SMS and the police are clearly defined.

NHS Staff (Assaults)

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what targets have been set by her Department on reducing incidents of violence against NHS staff.

Jane Kennedy: No targets are set currently for reducing the number of incidents of violence against national health service staff.
	In April 2003, the NHS security management service (SMS) was created and assumed responsibility for tackling violence against NHS staff.
	The SMS aims to deliver a secure environment for both those who use or work in the NHS, so that the highest standards of clinical care can be made available to patients. Its objective is to deter and prevent such incidences from occurring but, where this cannot be achieved, enable staff to manage these incidents with a minimum of risk to themselves and others.
	In November 2003, a comprehensive range of measures were introduced to tackle incidences of violence against NHS staff, both proactively and reactively. The SMS has begun a programme of work to identify the true nature, scale and extent of the problem of violence against NHS staff. Once this work is completed, meaningful and achievable targets for delivering a secure environment for NHS staff will be set.

NHS Staff (Assaults)

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total financial cost to NHS trusts of pursuing prosecutions on behalf of staff who have been victims of an alleged assault during their hours of work was in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and what assessment she has made of the effect of such costs on trusts' willingness to prosecute.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 20 June 2005
	The information requested is not collated centrally.
	In April 2003, the national health service security management service (SMS) was created and assumed responsibility for the issue of tackling violence against NHS staff. In November 2003, the SMS legal protection unit was created, as one of a range of measures introduced to tackle violence against NHS staff. Its objective is to work with health bodies, the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to increase the number of prosecutions against those who assault NHS staff.
	They provide free and consistent advice on action to health bodies to deal with those who abuse or assault staff and where legal action is required, independent of the police and the Crown Prosecution Service, will share up to 50 per cent. of the costs of pursuing such action. This represents a significant financial saving for health bodies.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make representations to Shropshire Primary Care Trust to provide essential drugs for rheumatoid arthritis on prescription.

Rosie Winterton: There is a wide range of over-the-counter and prescription drugs available to help relieve the pain and discomfort and reduce the future damage associated with the 200 different forms of arthritis.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) appraises the suitability of new drugs for use in the national health service. Primary care trusts are obliged to make drugs recommended by NICE available to all patients who meet the clinical guidelines. It is the responsibility of individual strategic health authorities to ensure local compliance with NICE guidelines.

Scans (Waiting Times)

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time is for (a) an MRI scan, (b) an ultrasound scan and (c) a CT scan (i) in London, (ii) at Barnet Chase Farm Hospitals and (iii) in the area covered by Barnet Primary Care Trust; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not currently collected centrally.
	We have put in place a national diagnostics programme to remove waits. We are establishing indicative milestones for diagnostic treatments:
	by March 2006, the maximum wait for computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging scans will be 26 weeks.
	by March 2007, it will be 13 weeks for all scans and diagnostics.
	by 2008, all patients will be treated within 18 weeks from general practitioner referral. This will include any diagnostics.
	The Department is currently agreeing strategic health authorities' local delivery plans and will monitor progress against those plans.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Securing the Vote Report

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how and when her Department will respond to the recommendations made in the Electoral Commission's report, Securing the Vote.

Harriet Harman: The Government are currently considering the measures in Securing the Vote and we will respond when it is appropriate to do so. The Government have sought views from stakeholders on the policy paper on electoral administration, which includes a number of the measures in Securing the Vote. We intend to legislate for most of these measures in the Electoral Administration Bill.

Coroner Service

Vera Baird: To ask the Minister of State Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans she has to reform the coroner service in England and Wales.

Harriet Harman: pursuant to the reply, 7 June 2005, Official Report, c. 1124
	I have been asked to reply.
	The information contained in my answer to my hon. and learned Friend's supplementary question was inaccurate. I apologise for this error. The coroner was reprimanded and continues to be monitored by the Lord Chancellor. However, he has not been required to undertake any extra training.

Coroner Service

Vera Baird: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what monitoring of the jurisdiction of the Teesside coroner her Department is carrying out following the reprimand issued in June 2004.

Harriet Harman: The Lord Chancellor has been receiving monthly information reports from the coroner for Teesside since June 2004. The reports provide details of performance in relation to all coroner cases (including inquests) in the region and specifically the numbers of cases received, disposed of and outstanding on a monthly basis. The Lord Chancellor will consider whether he requires the coroner to continue with the provision of monthly reports after the end of June 2005.

Courts Service

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on proposed weekend courts;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on the sitting hours of courts.

Harriet Harman: There are no plans to introduce weekend courts beyond those arrangements already in place. Some magistrates courts do regularly sit on Saturdays to conduct business. The Supporting Magistrates to Provide Justice Programme as part of the Government response to crime and antisocial behaviour is considering extending sitting hours including weekend courts generally.

Courts Service

David Kidney: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the capacity of the unified Courts Service to make more effective use of its resources.

Harriet Harman: Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) were launched as a new agency from 1 April 2005. For the first time all magistrates, Crown and county courts will operate together creating a more effective organisation and deliver efficiencies through merging of local activities, estates integration and more efficient use of corporate resources. HMCS plan to deliver efficiency savings of 14 million/24 million/31million and reduce its workforce by 400/600/800 over the SR04 period. The staff reduction will not be achieved through redundancies but through other means such as not filling new vacancies over the period. These efficiencies will be delivered through local plans in each of the 42 areas.

Criminal Defence Services Bill

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs for what reasons the thresholds for criminal legal aid set out in the proposed Criminal Defence Services Bill are different to those established for civil legal aid.

Bridget Prentice: As a general principle, the Government believe that the potential loss of liberty confronting an individual who faces criminal prosecution by the state is sufficiently serious to justify broad distinction from civil proceedings. For this reason, it is considered important to establish separate thresholds for both the criminal and civil legal aid schemes. In addition, the threshold for criminal legal aid has been specifically set at a level that we believe will ensure compliance with Article 6 of the European convention on human rights.

Criminal Defence Services Bill

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the proposed financial thresholds for means testing in the Criminal Defence Service Bill will be index-linked.

Bridget Prentice: The Framework Document published alongside the Criminal Defence Service Bill includes an undertaking to carry out an annual review of the proposed financial eligibility thresholds. In all normal circumstances, we would expect to update these thresholds in line with one of the established indicators such as the Rossi index. These proposals will be included among the draft regulations setting out the specific mechanics of the new means testing model. The regulations are expected to be published in autumn 2005 and will be subject to a full consultation exercise, the outcome of which will help to inform the final design and operation of the new scheme.

Criminal Practice

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the average salary of a pupil conducting criminal legally aided work has been in each of the last 10 years, broken down by region.

Bridget Prentice: The specific information requested is not collated or held centrally by this Department and therefore an answer cannot be given. The issue of salaries paid to pupils is a matter for chambers and the individual barristers concerned.

Criminal Practice

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how she plans to encourage young barristers into criminal practice.

Bridget Prentice: The Government have no specific plans to encourage young barristers into criminal practice or any other field.

Criminal Practice

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what percentage of law students applied to become criminal barristers in (a) 2005 and (b) each of the last 10 years, broken down by region.

Bridget Prentice: This information is not held centrally either by this Department or by the Bar Council. Law students train to become barristers rather than criminal barristers. They may then choose to apply to a criminal chambers, but this is of course, a personal decision.

Criminal Practice

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much has been spent on the Criminal Defence Service in each of the last 10 years.

Bridget Prentice: Spending on the Criminal Defence Service since its implementation in April 2001 and, prior to this criminal legal aid, was as follows:
	
		
			   million 
		
		
			 200405(30) 1,192 
			 200304 1,179 
			 200203 1,096 
			 200102 982 
			 200001 873 
			 19992000 783 
			 199899 779 
			 199798 734 
			 199697 669 
			 199596 616 
		
	
	(30) Figures for 200405 are estimates and subject to year-end adjustments.

Criminal Practice

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans she has to introduce revised payment rates to meet the costs of the additional case management responsibilities introduced in the Criminal Procedures Rules 2005.

Bridget Prentice: The Government support the new Criminal Procedure Rules which aim to gain better control of case management and length of trials, and encourage earlier and better preparation. We are consulting the legal professions to make structural changes to the graduated fee scheme in Preston and Nottingham to support the Plea and Case Management Hearing pilots. These changes would be on a cost-neutral basis.

Criminal Practice

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how she intends to improve the effective recovery of costs in criminal trials at the Crown court.

Bridget Prentice: The Government are planning to strengthen the existing system of recovery of defence costs orders, as well as making greater use of the courts' existing power to restrain people from disposing of their assets. While the Criminal Defence Service Bill also confers the power to introduce formal means testing into the Crown court, we believe that this will require a different model to the existing proposals for the magistrates court. The Government will publish their design for a suitable Crown court scheme in due course and reaffirm their commitment to consult fully and widely on these proposals.

Departmental Objectives/Staffing

Graham Allen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans she has to involve hon. Members in delivering the objectives of her Department.

Harriet Harman: The objectives of my Department are set out in the document Making a Difference Taking Forward Our Priorities, copies of which were placed in the Libraries of both Houses. In the development of these proposals we have consulted hon. Members by issuing consultation papers, holding meetings and engaging in debates. We intend to continue to do so.

Departmental Objectives/Staffing

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the expected change is in full-time equivalent staff resulting from merging the electoral law divisions in the Department for Constitutional Affairs and Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Harriet Harman: There are no plans in the immediate future to change the number of full-time equivalent staff working on electoral law as a result of the recent machinery of Government changes.

Judicial Appointments

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what her policy is on the minimum legal qualifications necessary for a judicial appointment.

Harriet Harman: The eligibility requirements for judicial appointments are set down in statute. They vary according to the judicial office concerned, but in general they provide that before being considered for judicial appointment, an individual must have possessed specified rights of audience before the courts for a specified length of time. The Lord Chancellor announced on 5 March this year that he would review the statutory eligibility requirements as a part of his programme of work aimed at increasing the diversity of the judiciary. That review is currently under way, and the Lord Chancellor will announce his decision shortly. It should be noted that the statutory qualifications are the minimum required to enable an individual to apply for judicial appointment: those who do apply are assessed against a detailed competence framework for the post concerned, and appointments are made solely on merit.

Rape Trials

Vera Baird: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  if she will ensure that an Appeal Court judge who hears a rape appeal undergoes training in serious sexual offences;
	(2)  whether Court of Appeal (criminal division) judges (a) undergo continuation training on sexual offences and (b) receive further training on sexual offences after attending the serious sexual offences course on first appointment to the High Court;
	(3)  if she will ensure that a Court of Appeal judge who may hear a rape appeal but has not been on the serious sexual offences course is obliged to attend such a course;
	(4)  whether judges who were promoted from the High Court to the Court of Appeal prior to the introduction of the serious sexual offences course for High Court judges are given similar training before being allowed to hear rape appeals.

Harriet Harman: Rape appeals will invariably be heard by an Appeal Court which will include at least one and usually two judges who have been on the serious sexual offences seminar.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Adult Education

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action she is taking to improve the provision of adult education.

Phil Hope: The Government's Skills Strategy, 21st Century Skills: Realising Our Potential (July 2003) and Skills: Getting on in business, getting on at work (March 2005) set out our plans for increasing and improving opportunities for adults to develop their skills. Adult education services are benefiting from our well-received Success for All programme. This is a long-term initiative to develop quality, demand-led provision, in which the Department is investing 118 million this year. For example, students benefit from the excellent teaching and learning resources produced through Success for All and managers can develop their leadership and management skills through the Government-funded Centre for Excellence in Leadership.

A-levels

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent discussions she has had with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority on the (a) future and (b) rigour of A levels.

Jacqui Smith: None. Our proposals for further strengthening A levels are set out in our White Paper, 1419 Education and Skills, published on 23 February 2005. The Secretary of State wrote to the QCA on 29 March with details of the role it should play in driving these reforms forward.

Basic Skills

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many adults are without (a) level 3 and (b) basic skills, broken down by (i) local education authority and (ii) Government office region.

Phil Hope: The following table shows both the number and proportion of working adults 1 who lack a NVQ level 3 or equivalent qualification. The results are based on the 200304 local labour force survey which sampled around 390,000 people from March 2003 to February 2004 throughout the United Kingdom. Figures are presented at Country and Government office region level in the first instance, and then local education authorities ordered alphabetically:
	1 Working age adults defined here as males aged 1664 and females aged 1659.
	
		
			  Adults without a level 3 or higher 
			 Country Number (Thousand) Percentage 
		
		
			 England 17,059 56 
			 Wales 1,027 59 
			 Scotland 1,614 52 
			 Northern Ireland 615 60 
			 Government Office Region   
			 North East 922 60 
			 North West 2,370 58 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 1,759 58 
			 East Midlands 1,487 58 
			 West Midlands 1,925 60 
			 East of England 1,932 59 
			 London 2,530 53 
			 South East 2,558 52 
			 South West 1,576 54 
			
			 Local Education Authority   
			 Aberdeen City 62 47 
			 Aberdeenshire 72 50 
			 Angus 33 52 
			 Argyll and Bute 26 50 
			 Barking and Dagenham 70 71 
			 Barnet 98 47 
			 Barnsley 87 65 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 47 45 
			 Bedfordshire 130 54 
			 Bexley 84 63 
			 Birmingham 363 61 
			 Blackburn 51 62 
			 Blackpool 56 69 
			 Blaenau Gwent 31 76 
			 Bolton 88 55 
			 Bournemouth 53 55 
			 Bracknell Forest 37 52 
			 Bradford 177 62 
			 Brent 103 60 
			 Bridgend 46 59 
			 Brighton and Hove 70 43 
			 Bristol 116 48 
			 Bromley 96 53 
			 Buckinghamshire 141 48 
			 Bury 60 54 
			 Caerphilly 69 67 
			 Calderdale 69 58 
			 Cambridgeshire 179 51 
			 Camden 61 44 
			 Cardiff 92 48 
			 Carmarthenshire 61 61 
			 Ceredigion 24 50 
			 Cheshire 209 51 
			 City of London n/a n/a 
			 Clackmannanshire 17 58 
			 Conwy 38 62 
			 Cornwall 164 55 
			 Coventry 108 58 
			 Croydon 122 57 
			 Cumbria 167 58 
			 Darlington 34 59 
			 Denbighshire 32 59 
			 Derby 76 56 
			 Derbyshire 270 60 
			 Devon 212 52 
			 Doncaster 113 66 
			 Dorset 123 55 
			 Dudley 112 61 
			 Dumfries and Galloway 48 57 
			 Dundee City 43 51 
			 Durham 183 61 
			 Ealing 99 48 
			 East Ayrshire 43 59 
			 East Dunbartonshire 27 40 
			 East Lothian 28 50 
			 East Renfrewshire 20 35 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 104 55 
			 East Sussex 157 57 
			 Edinburgh, City of 115 39 
			 Eilean Siar 8 54 
			 Enfield 108 62 
			 Essex 507 64 
			 Falkirk 49 54 
			 Fife 112 52 
			 Flintshire 53 57 
			 Gateshead 71 61 
			 Glasgow City 202 55 
			 Gloucestershire 181 53 
			 Greater Peterborough 62 63 
			 Greenwich 79 57 
			 Gwynedd 38 54 
			 Hackney 82 60 
			 Halton 48 66 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 53 43 
			 Hampshire 384 51 
			 Haringey 82 55 
			 Harrow 68 50 
			 Hartlepool 35 66 
			 Havering 91 67 
			 Hereford 60 58 
			 Hertfordshire 316 50 
			 Highland 65 53 
			 Hillingdon 85 54 
			 Hounslow 79 57 
			 Inverclyde 27 53 
			 Isle of Anglesey 23 58 
			 Isle of Wight 43 59 
			 Islington 62 52 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 51 43 
			 Kent 457 57 
			 Kingston upon Hull 103 70 
			 Kingston upon Thames 37 37 
			 Kirklees 139 58 
			 Knowsley 65 72 
			 Lambeth 90 51 
			 Lancashire 376 55 
			 Leeds 232 52 
			 Leicester 113 65 
			 Leicestershire 212 55 
			 Lewisham 87 53 
			 Lincolnshire 223 58 
			 Liverpool 181 67 
			 Luton 71 62 
			 Manchester 141 56 
			 Medway Towns 102 65 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 24 70 
			 Merton 56 44 
			 Middlesbrough 51 63 
			 Midlothian 28 56 
			 Milton Keynes 83 59 
			 Monmouthshire 25 49 
			 Moray 30 59 
			 Neath Port Talbot 52 65 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 86 53 
			 Newham 106 68 
			 Newport 51 62 
			 Norfolk 287 61 
			 North Ayrshire 46 56 
			 North East Lincolnshire 65 71 
			 North Lanarkshire 117 58 
			 North Lincolnshire 55 60 
			 North Somerset 60 53 
			 North Tyneside 64 56 
			 North Yorkshire 164 49 
			 Northamptonshire 228 58 
			 Northumberland 108 58 
			 Nottingham 100 59 
			 Nottinghamshire 256 56 
			 Oldham 86 65 
			 Orkney Islands 6 52 
			 Oxfordshire 180 47 
			 Pembrokeshire 39 58 
			 Perth and Kinross 37 47 
			 Plymouth 87 59 
			 Poole 47 57 
			 Portsmouth 69 58 
			 Powys 45 61 
			 Reading 47 50 
			 Redbridge 93 60 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 54 65 
			 Renfrewshire 53 50 
			 Rhondda Cynon Taff 90 65 
			 Richmond upon Thames 45 38 
			 Rochdale 81 64 
			 Rotherham 96 63 
			 Royal Windsor/Maidenhead 38 45 
			 Rutland 10 48 
			 Salford 78 60 
			 Sandwell 118 70 
			 Scottish Borders, The 35 55 
			 Sefton 93 57 
			 Sheffield 177 56 
			 Shetland Islands 7 52 
			 Shropshire 93 56 
			 Slough 49 64 
			 Solihull 62 52 
			 Somerset 163 56 
			 South Ayrshire 35 54 
			 South Gloucestershire 76 50 
			 South Lanarkshire 107 57 
			 South Tyneside 56 62 
			 Southampton 77 55 
			 Southend 62 64 
			 Southwark 85 53 
			 St. Helens 65 60 
			 Staffordshire 293 59 
			 Stirling 24 44 
			 Stockport 93 54 
			 Stockton on Tees 65 59 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 102 70 
			 Suffolk 252 64 
			 Sunderland 114 67 
			 Surrey 307 47 
			 Sutton 64 56 
			 Swansea 72 54 
			 Swindon 66 58 
			 Tameside 87 66 
			 Telford and Wrekin 63 62 
			 The Vale of Glamorgan 38 53 
			 Thurrock 66 72 
			 Torbay 44 61 
			 Torfaen 36 65 
			 Tower Hamlets 77 58 
			 Trafford 61 48 
			 Wakefield 126 65 
			 Walsall 99 66 
			 Waltham Forest 82 60 
			 Wandsworth 73 39 
			 Warrington 65 55 
			 Warwickshire 176 56 
			 West Berkshire 45 49 
			 West Dunbartonshire 33 58 
			 West Lothian 59 55 
			 West Sussex 232 53 
			 Westminster, City of 64 48 
			 Wigan 115 61 
			 Wiltshire 136 52 
			 Wirral 103 56 
			 Wokingham 40 41 
			 Wolverhampton 91 65 
			 Worcestershire 187 57 
			 Wrexham 51 64 
			 York 53 47 
		
	
	n/a = Sample size too small to provide a reliable figure.
	In October 2003 the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) published 'The Skills for Life Survey: A national needs and impact survey of literacy, numeracy and ICT skills'. The survey assessed the literacy, numeracy and ICT skills of around 8000 adults aged 16 and above in England. The findings for the nine government office regions are shown in the following tables. The assessment levels correspond to the new literacy and numeracy core curriculum and National Standards: Level 1 is broadly equivalent to a lower grade GCSE (grade D-G) and Level 2 to a higher grade GCSE (A*-C).
	Overall around 16 per cent. of adults had literacy skills below Level 1: this varied between 21 per cent. in the north-east and 12 per cent. in the south-east. Likewise, 47 per cent. of adults had numeracy skills below Level 1 and this varied between 55 per cent. in the north-east and 40 per cent. in the south-east.
	
		Literacy level by government office region -- Percentage
		
			   Region 
			  Total North East London Yorks  Humber West Midlands 
		
		
			 Base: All respondents with literacy scores (7874) (881) (862) (883) (857) 
			 Entry level 1 or below 3 4 5 4 4 
			 Entry level 2 2 3 2 2 2 
			 Entry level 3 11 14 13 13 11 
			 Level 1 40 41 34 42 42 
			 Level 2 or above 44 37 46 39 41 
		
	
	
		Percentage
		
			  Region 
			  North West East Midlands South West East of England South East 
		
		
			 Base: All respondents with literacy scores (880) (761) (879) (749) (1122) 
			 Entry level 1 or below 4 3 2 2 2 
			 Entry level 2 2 2 3 1 1 
			 Entry level 3 12 10 9 9 8 
			 Level 1 42 41 40 40 37 
			 Level 2 or above 41 43 46 47 51 
		
	
	
		Numeracy level by Government office region -- Percentage
		
			   Region 
			  Total North East Yorks  Humber North West East Midlands 
		
		
			 Base: All respondents with numeracy scores (8040) (898) (923) (895) (785) 
			 Entry level 1 or below 5 6 6 6 6 
			 Entry level 2 16 22 17 19 16 
			 Entry level 3 25 27 28 24 27 
			 Level 1 28 24 28 28 27 
			 Level 2 or above 25 21 21 23 23 
		
	
	
		Percentage
		
			  Region 
			  South West London West Midlands East of England South East 
		
		
			 Base: All respondents with numeracy scores (889) (881) (865) (766) (1138) 
			 Entry level 1 or below 5 6 6 4 4 
			 Entry level 2 16 17 16 13 12 
			 Entry level 3 28 25 25 25 24 
			 Level 1 29 26 29 28 27 
			 Level 2 or above 23 25 24 30 32 
		
	
	Due to the survey sample size it is not possible to provide survey findings for the level of skills by local education authorities. However, the Department is currently working with Exeter university to generate a range of local level estimates (based on modelling techniques) to inform local planning and delivery in this key policy area. To date, estimates have been produced for Local Learning and Skills Councils (LLSCs), Districts and Wards. These estimates can be accessed on the Department's website at:
	www.dfes.gov.uk/readwriteplus_skillsforlifesurvey/
	A copy of the survey report is in the House of Commons Library and on the DfES website:
	www.dfes.gov.uk

Binge Drinking

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures are being taken in schools to promote awareness of the health implications of binge drinking.

Jacqui Smith: All maintained schools must provide drug education, including information about alcohol. There is scope within the frameworks for Personal Social Health Education (PSHE) and Citizenship at key stages 1 and 2, PSHE at key stages 3 and 4 and the Citizenship programme of study at key stages 3 and 4 to explore the effects of binge drinking. Alcohol education in schools has an essential role to play in enabling pupils to develop their knowledge, skills, attitudes and understanding about alcohol.
	In 200405, we supported over 2,000 teachers in the PSHE certificate for teachers which sets standards in the teaching of drug and alcohol education. Up to 3,000 teachers will be supported in 200506.
	Together with the Home Office and Department of Health, we are supporting a national five year research programme called Blueprint to test the effectiveness of drug education initiatives in schools. It will make a significant contribution to developing a UK evidence base for drug, alcohol and tobacco education.

Broadband

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding is being made available to each local education authority to provide broadband internet access for schools.

Jacqui Smith: A list of broadband for schools funding 2005/06 made available to each local education authority is as follows:
	
		Annex 1
		
			 LEA Allocation () 
		
		
			 City of London 5,294 
			 Camden 296,605 
			 Greenwich 439,793 
			 Hackney 352,857 
			 Hammersmith 260,808 
			 Islington 327,288 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 168,758 
			 Lambeth 398,882 
			 Lewisham 465,362 
			 Southwark 490,932 
			 Tower Hamlets 475,590 
			 Wandsworth 403,996 
			 Westminster 260,808 
			 Barking 306,832 
			 Barnet 603,437 
			 Bexley 424,451 
			 Brent 429,565 
			 Bromley 529,179 
			 Croydon 639,234 
			 Ealing 434,679 
			 Enfield 470,476 
			 Haringey 414,224 
			 Harrow 363,085 
			 Havering 455,135 
			 Hillingdon 460,249 
			 Hounslow 424,451 
			 Kingston upon Thames 265,921 
			 Merton 281,263 
			 Newham 429,565 
			 Redbridge 383,541 
			 Richmond upon Thames 265,921 
			 Sutton 301,719 
			 Waltham Forest 429,565 
			 Birmingham 2,137,599 
			 Coventry 613,665 
			 Dudley 582,982 
			 Sandwell 649,462 
			 Solihull 504,518 
			 Walsall 623,893 
			 Wolverhampton 567,640 
			 Knowsley 441,527 
			 Liverpool 961,408 
			 St Helens 402,334 
			 Sefton 613,665 
			 Wirral 690,373 
			 Bolton 680,145 
			 Bury 419,338 
			 Manchester 930,725 
			 Oldham 627,378 
			 Rochdale 490,932 
			 Salford 547,184 
			 Stockport 634,120 
			 Tameside 521,615 
			 Trafford 506,273 
			 Wigan 746,626 
			 Barnsley 568,404 
			 Doncaster 931,404 
			 Rotherham 753,402 
			 Sheffield 983,954 
			 Bradford 1,101,857 
			 Calderdale 635,415 
			 Kirklees 1,155,290 
			 Leeds 1,629,391 
			 Wakefield 811,886 
			 Gateshead 490,189 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 490,932 
			 North Tyneside 414,224 
			 South Tyneside 363,085 
			 Sunderland 582,982 
			 Isles of Scilly 55,670 
			 Bath and NE Somerset 0 
			 City of Bristol 0 
			 North Somerset 0 
			 South Gloucestershire 0 
			 Hartlepool 211,567 
			 Middlesbrough 286,377 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 385,512 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 473,252 
			 Kingston-upon-Hull 516,501 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 1,300,867 
			 North East Lincolnshire 441,162 
			 North Lincolnshire 661,317 
			 North Yorkshire 3,638,225 
			 York 408,906 
			 Bedfordshire 1,506,180 
			 Luton 383,541 
			 Buckinghamshire 1,637,881 
			 Milton Keynes 661,874 
			 Derbyshire 2,833,485 
			 Derby 506,273 
			 Dorset 0 
			 Poole 0 
			 Bournemouth 0 
			 Durham 1,944,661 
			 Darlington 256,179 
			 East Sussex 1,337,094 
			 Brighton and Hove 373,313 
			 Hampshire 3,525,005 
			 Portsmouth 373,313 
			 Southampton 434,679 
			 Leicestershire 1,949,582 
			 Leicester 588,095 
			 Rutland 199,222 
			 Staffordshire 2,685,483 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 526,729 
			 Wiltshire 0 
			 Swindon 0 
			 Bracknell Forest 220,152 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 390,777 
			 West Berkshire 637,109 
			 Reading 260,808 
			 Slough 230,124 
			 Wokingham 385,611 
			 Cambridgeshire 2,055,991 
			 Peterborough 457,558 
			 Cheshire 2,276,988 
			 Halton 347,304 
			 Warrington 452,871 
			 Devon 0 
			 Plymouth 0 
			 Torbay 0 
			 Essex 3,797,440 
			 Southend-on-Sea 296,605 
			 Thurrock 338,555 
			 Herefordshire 999,438 
			 Worcestershire 1,779,751 
			 Kent 3,988,085 
			 Medway Towns 645,552 
			 Lancashire 3,976,174 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 401,834 
			 Blackpool 225,010 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,329,098 
			 Nottingham City 639,234 
			 Shropshire 1,509,149 
			 Telford and Wrekin 515,380 
			 Cornwall 0 
			 Cumbria 2,760,052 
			 Gloucestershire 0 
			 Hertfordshire 3,174,292 
			 Isle of Wight 530,794 
			 Lincolnshire 3,279,602 
			 Norfolk 3,770,705 
			 Northamptonshire 2,332,898 
			 Northumberland 1,635,590 
			 Oxfordshire 2,095,728 
			 Somerset 17,475,497 
			 Suffolk 2,705,558 
			 Surrey 2,429,053 
			 Warwickshire 1,745,870 
			 West Sussex 1,946,537 
			 Total 143,606,001

Broadband

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State forEducation and Skills how many schools in each local education authority have broadband internet access.

Jacqui Smith: The Prime Minister announced the target to connect all schools to broadband by 2006 and we are on schedule to achieve this. As at end March 2005, 76 per cent. of schools in England were connected to broadband (73 per cent. of Primary schools and 99 per cent. of Secondary schools) compared to just one in eight in December 2001.
	A list of the percentage of schools that have broadband internet access as at 31 March 2005, by each local education authority, is as follows:
	
		Annex 1
		
			  Schools connected 
			 LEA Number Percentage 
		
		
			 Banes 66 77 
			 Barking 61 100 
			 Barnet 123 99 
			 Barnsley 100 98 
			 Bedfordshire 148 65 
			 Bexley 84 100 
			 Birmingham 443 100 
			 Blackburn with Darwin 47 57 
			 Blackpool 44 100 
			 Bolton 27 20 
			 Bournmouth 12 31 
			 Bracknell Forest 38 96 
			 Bradford 141 68 
			 Brent 87 99 
			 Brighton and Hove 72 96 
			 Bristol 113 69 
			 Bromley 102 100 
			 Buckinghamshire 68 28 
			 Bury 37 45 
			 Calderdale 49 48 
			 Cambridgeshire 233 91 
			 Camden 60 100 
			 Cheshire 273 78 
			 City of London 1 100 
			 Cornwall 208 75 
			 Coventry 119 99 
			 Croydon 128 95 
			 Cumbria 233 68 
			 Darlington 42 88 
			 Derby City 95 88 
			 Derbyshire 291 68 
			 Devon 237 64 
			 Doncaster 43 32 
			 Dorset 131 72 
			 Dudley 115 100 
			 Durham 169 55 
			 Ealing 81 89 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 150 94 
			 East Sussex 140 71 
			 Enfield 83 89 
			 Essex 237 40 
			 Gateshead 94 100 
			 Gloucestershire 228 73 
			 Greenwich 79 87 
			 Hackney 60 81 
			 Halton 49 72 
			 Hammersmith 51 91 
			 Hampshire 525 95 
			 Haringey 62 74 
			 Harrow 70 99 
			 Hartlepool 40 100 
			 Havering 90 100 
			 Herefordshire 104 99 
			 Hertfordshire 529 94 
			 Hillingdon 70 78 
			 Hounslow 85 100 
			 Isle of Wight 61 86 
			 Islington 45 79 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 38 100 
			 Kent 287 46 
			 Kingston 23 43 
			 Kingston upon Hull 42 40 
			 Kirklees MBC 44 22 
			 Knowsley 78 100 
			 Lambeth 78 88 
			 Lancashire 420 64 
			 Leeds 5 100 
			 Leicester City 60 52 
			 Leicestershire 165 56 
			 Lewisham 90 100 
			 Lincolnshire 227 59 
			 Liverpool 209 100 
			 Luton 58 69 
			 Manchester 185 100 
			 Meadway 113 100 
			 Merton 54 98 
			 Middlesbrough 55 100 
			 Milton Keynes 103 95 
			 Newcastle 103 100 
			 Newham 86 93 
			 Norfolk 266 58 
			 Northamptonshire 237 66 
			 North East Lincolnshire 73 96 
			 North Lincolnshire 66 77 
			 North Somerset 55 68 
			 North Tyneside 81 100 
			 North Yorkshire 216 55 
			 Northumberland 97 46 
			 Nottingham City 76 55 
			 Nottinghamshire 234 62 
			 Oldham 70 59 
			 Oxfordshire 292 99 
			 Peterborough 75 96 
			 Plymouth 94 86 
			 Poole 43 100 
			 Portsmouth 69 95 
			 R.B. Windsor and Maidenhead 64 97 
			 Reading 6 11 
			 Redbridge 75 100 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 64 100 
			 Richmond on Thames 18 34 
			 Rochdale 101 100 
			 Rotherham 130 95 
			 Rutland 12 55 
			 Salford 100 91 
			 Sandwell 129 100 
			 Sefton 122 100 
			 Sheffield 51 27 
			 Shropshire 167 100 
			 Slough 38 81 
			 Solihull 40 45 
			 Somerset 135 49 
			 Southampton 64 74 
			 Southend on Sea 57 100 
			 South Gloucestershire 114 100 
			 South Tyneside 72 100 
			 Southwark 90 87 
			 Staffordshire 267 64 
			 St Helens 73 95 
			 Stockport 120 92 
			 Stockton 86 100 
			 Stoke 107 100 
			 Suffolk 130 37 
			 Sunderland 120 100 
			 Surrey 382 93 
			 Sutton 30 49 
			 Swindon 83 100 
			 Tameside 103 100 
			 Telford and Wrekin 87 100 
			 Thurrock 59 100 
			 Torbay 41 91 
			 Tower Hamlets 96 96 
			 Trafford 94 95 
			 Wakefield 125 80 
			 Walsall 129 100 
			 Waltham Forest 88 97 
			 Wandsworth 80 99 
			 Warrington 90 100 
			 Warwickshire 156 61 
			 West Berkshire 49 57 
			 Westminster 56 100 
			 West Sussex 185 62 
			 Wigan 145 100 
			 Wiltshire 188 71 
			 Wirral 131 95 
			 Wokingham 59 92 
			 Wolverhampton 117 100 
			 Worcestershire 145 53 
			 York 67 96

Bullying

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to her answer of 7 June 2005, Official Report, column 472W, on bullying, what the (a) membership, (b) funding for 200506 from her Department and (c) terms of reference are of the (i) Youth Crime Programme Board, (ii) Crime Reduction Delivery Board, (iii) Penalty Notices for Disorder operational working group, (iv) Prolific and Other Priority Offenders Programme Board and (v) Safer Schools Partnership steering group; what work each has commissioned; and how often each have met since being established.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is as follows:
	(i) Youth Crime Programme Board (YCPB)
	(a) Membershipchaired by DfES, YCPB brings together key stakeholders from across DfES: Preventing Youth Offending; Improving Behaviour and Attendance Unit; Looked After Children; Positive Programmes; Offenders Learning and Skills Unit; Families Division and PSHE and Citizenship. Home Office: Head of Youth Crime; Juvenile Offenders Unit; Treatment of Young People and Drugs Unit; Violent Crime and Crime Reduction. Youth Justice Board: Director of Policy. Government Offices for the Regions and Department of Health.
	(b) Funding from DfES 200506there is no specific DfES funding.
	(c) Terms of referenceto:
	act as the key forum across Government for making policy decisions on cross-cutting issues relating to youth crime;
	develop an understanding of the DfES contribution to youth crime and how that may be maximised;
	provide support and challenge for policies relating to youth crime in DfES/HO/ Youth Justice Board (YJB);
	identify and contribute to the resolution of risks and issues relating to youth crime policy; and
	agree issues, risks and progress to be communicated to the Change for Children Programme Board and the Home Office Crime Reduction Delivery Board.
	(d) Work commissionedThe main purpose of the board is not to commission work but to ensure that relevant Government policies are joined up. However, the board have also commissioned work to look at the risks associated with the onset of offending and how DfES' existing policies impact on these. It also proposed an anti-robbery week in schools called 'Stay Safe' which subsequently took place in January 2005.
	(e) How often metfirst met July 2004 and has met five times since.
	(ii) Crime Reduction Delivery Board
	(a) Membershipchaired by the Home Office, is a cross-departmental group of officials and stakeholders established in May 2003 to drive forward and give strategic focus to multi-agency efforts to reduce all forms of crime, including anti-social behaviour. This group includes representatives from frontline delivery services as well as Department of Health, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Youth Justice Board, DfES and others.
	(b) Funding from DfES 200506there is no specific DfES funding.
	(c) Terms of referenceto:
	receive and agree an all-source assessment of current crime trends/issues in relation to Home Office crime reduction PSAs and commission action where necessary;
	issue a regular report on that assessment to the Home Secretary;
	monitor performance in respect of crime targets and levels of public confidence in crime reduction;
	take papers at each meeting on one or at most two key issues;
	agree the contribution of the police, local government, other Government Departments and other agencies in reducing crime and increasing public confidence; and
	ensure that crime reduction implications are taken into account in work across the criminal justice system and in other Government Departments.
	(d) Work commissionedfrom time to time commissions papers or work from Board members. Recent commissions have included work that led to the establishment of the Prolific and Other Priority Offenders Strategy, a report on knife crime leading to the inclusion of knife crime measures in the Violent Crime Reduction Bill currently before Parliament, and the work on alcohol fuelled crime, which has led to the recent initiatives by the licensed trade around promotions such as happy hours.
	(e) How often metmonthly.
	(iii) Operational Working Group for the 1015s Penalty Notices for Disorder
	(a) Membershiprepresentatives from the seven police forces taking part in the pilot, representatives from DfES, Department of Health, Crown Prosecution Service, Children's Society, Department for Constitutional Affairs, Youth Justice Board and Police Information Technology Organisation.
	(b) Funding from DfES 200506there is no specific DfES funding.
	(c) Terms of referenceto develop the operational processing guidance for the PNDs specifically tailored for the 1015 age group and have an overview of the start of issuing of the tickets.
	(d) Work commissionedcommissioned the Penalty Notices for Disorder tickets template, the draft operational guidance and an evaluation report (both quantitative and qualitative) from Research, Development  Statistics (RDS). The RDS report will cover the first year of the 1015s PNDs being issued and will produce an interim report after six months and a final report at the end of the first year.
	(e) How often metfirst met on 6 February 2004, and has met five times since then (March, July, October, December 2004 and February 2005. The May 2005 meeting has recently been rescheduled for August.
	(iv) Prolific and other Priority Offenders Programme Board
	(a) Membershipchaired by Leigh Lewis, Home Office Permanent Secretary for Crime, Policing, Counter Terrorism and Delivery. Membership comprises senior representation from the key stakeholders involved in delivering the strategy. Attendees are from a sufficiently high level so as to ensure they have the full authority to take decisions on behalf of the organisation they represent.
	(b) Funding from DfES 200506there is no specific DfES funding.
	(c) Terms of referenceto provide strategic leadership to implement the Prolific and other Priority Offenders strategy; ensuring that risks are identified and actively managed and taking proactive steps to identify and correct blockages at a senior level across all stakeholders.
	(d) Work commissionedhas ensured that all areas of England and Wales have set up a Prolific and other Priority Offenders scheme and that the schemes are actively engaging with their client groups to reduce crime. The board has ensured that this has been delivered locally through mainstream resources.
	(e) How often metonce each month since 22 March 2004.
	(v) Safer School Partnership Steering Group
	(a) Membershipattended by the projects' partners; the Home Office, Youth Justice Board and ACPO (Association of Chief Police Offices), ConfEd (Confederation of Education and Children's Services Managers), Local Government Association, police officers and head teachers.
	(b) Funding from DfES 200506Funding for financial year 200506 is still under negotiation. Equivalent amount of the last financial year300,000 has been earmarked.
	(c) Terms of referenceThe original terms of reference for the steering group in 2002 were to oversee the development and implementation of the Safer School Partnerships (police in schools) strand of the Behaviour Improvement Package. This aims to agree partnerships involving 100 police officers based in schools by end September 2002. These are to be in police force areas among the 10 high crime areas in England. This has been delivered and more recent figures show that there are now over 400 SSPs across England.
	(d) Work commissionedDfES has commissioned:
	(1) Work to pull together examples of good practice on introducing SSPssubsequently published in October 2004.
	(2) University of York to produce a SSP Mainstreaming Report. Draft report complete in April 2005.
	(3) Funds Crime Concern to provide monitoring and support to SSPs
	The Youth Justice Board has commissioned:
	(1) PRB (Public Policy Research Bureau) to produce a national evaluation for year 2002/03. This was published in November 2004.
	(2) University of York to produce a national evaluation for year 2003/04, to be published in July 2005.
	(e) How often metevery month in the first year and then had bi-monthly meetings. Since its establishment the group has met 23 times. The four partners meet regularly to discuss issues.

Bullying

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what research she has evaluated on the prevalence of bullying;
	(2)  how many complaints about the handling of bullying in schools have been received by (a) local education authorities and (b) her Department in each of the last five years;
	(3)  what data schools are required to collect on incidents of bullying.

Jacqui Smith: On the question of the prevalence of data and its evaluation I refer the hon. Member to my response on 13 June 2005, Official Report, column 187W.
	We do not hold data on bullying complaints received by local authorities. Each complaint received in the Department is dealt with. However we do not keep a statistical record of complaints.
	There is no requirement on schools to collect data on incidents of bullying. However, the effective practice digest that accompanies the anti-bullying Charter for Action recommends that schools should keep a record, and should analyse it for patterns, for example of who is bullied and where bullying takes place.

Bullying

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the progress of the Change for Children Programme; and what assessment she has made of its effectiveness in improving behaviour in schools.

Jacqui Smith: Since publishing the Every Child Matters: Change for Children document last December we have made good progress on implementing the programme. For example, all local authorities are working with their partners to put in place children's trust arrangements and focus services on delivering better outcomes for children and young people in their area. Over half expect to have children's trust arrangements in place by April 2006 and all by 2008,
	Improving behaviour in schools is a priority for the Government. Children's trusts will work with local partners including schools to identify the needs in the area and put in place action to tackle those needs, which might include improving behaviour. We have made clear our expectation that all secondary schools should be working together in collaboration by September 2007 to improve behaviour and attendance. To be successful they will need to be fully linked into local Change for Children programmes, and be reflected in Children and Young People's Plans.

Bullying

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the Answer of 7 June 2005, Official Report, column 472W, on bullying and anti-social behaviour, if she will list the (a) published research and (b) statistics to which she refers.

Jacqui Smith: From the Department's Statistical First Release data on exclusions from school, we know that there is an association between a school's permanent exclusion rate and its pupils' GCSE attainment: generally those schools with high permanent exclusion rates tend to have lower levels of pupil attainment.
	Source:
	DfES (2004) Permanent Exclusions from Maintained Schools in England, 2002/2003' DfES Statistical First Release SFR 42/2004.
	From the NFER Excellence in Cities (EiC) Attendance Analysis, we know that once pupil, school and background characteristics are taken into account, there is an association between absence rates and pupil attainment. The research shows that higher than average absence levels were associated with reduced GCSE attainment (especially for boys) and KS3 English attainment.
	Source:
	Morris  Rutt (2004) 'Analysis of Pupil Attendance Data in Excellence in Cities (EiC) Areas: An Interim Report' DfES Research Report RR571.
	In terms of bullying, although the Department has not commissioned research specifically to look at the impact of bullying on attainment, we did commission a research review on homophobic bullying, which looked at the prevalence and impact of this on young people. The research concluded that homophobic bullying had negative impacts such as absence from school, limited achievement and lower staying on rates.
	Source:
	Warwick, Chase, Aggleton  Sanders (2004) 'Homophobia, Sexual Orientation and Schools: a review and implications for action' DfES Research Report RR594.
	Furthermore, the 2003 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) work co-ordinated by the OECD (the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) showed that 88 per cent. of UK headteachers thought that the learning of students was hindered a little or to some extent by students intimidating or bullying other students.
	It must be noted that the relationships between bullying, truancy, exclusion, social exclusion, and negative outcomes such as poor attainment and poor behaviour are complex and difficult to analyse.

Bullying

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 7 June 2005, Official Report, column 472W, on bullying, what cross-departmental initiatives have been put in place to tackle (a) bullying, (b) low level disruptive behaviour and (c) truancy; and what assessment she has made of their effectiveness.

Jacqui Smith: We are committed to supporting cross-departmental, multi-agency approaches to reducing poor behaviour in schools and truancy. They include:
	over 400 Safer School Partnerships that base police officers in schools. These officers contribute significantly to improving pupil behaviour, especially where the partnership is part of a strategic approach to behaviour improvement;
	regular national truancy sweeps by the police and local authorities that have so far caught nearly 40,000 truants;
	over 140 Behaviour and Education Support Teams that bring together education, health and social care professionals to support schools, pupils and their families. Early evidence indicates that these teams are effective in improving behaviour and reducing exclusions and truancy;
	Skill Force, a charity sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the DfES, that provides teams including ex-service personnel to work with disaffected pupils. A recent London University Institute of Education evaluation indicated a 78 per cent. reduction in exclusions for Skill Force participants.

Bury Lawn School, Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will commission an inquiry into the relations between parents and school administrators, Global Education Management Systems, at Bury Lawn school in Milton Keynes.

Jacqui Smith: Bury Lawn school is an independent school. Like other independent schools, it is registered with the Department and is subject to regular inspection. All independent schools must reach and maintain satisfactory standards of education, health, safety and welfare which are set out in regulations, in order to achieve and maintain registration. These standards do not interfere with the freedom of independent schools to manage their own affairs, including the commercial relationship between the school and parents. In the case of Bury Lawn, the dispute is not related to our statutory minimum standards, so the Secretary of State has no power to intervene.

Bury Lawn School, Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the academy project in Milton Keynes following the withdrawal of Global Education Management Systems from the project.

Jacqui Smith: Proposals for an academy in Milton Keynes are at a very early stage. No formal project has been agreed there. We had been in discussion with GEMS and with Milton Keynes council about the proposal but no agreement was reached. Academies officials are continuing their discussions with a range of sponsors about potential academy projects around the country, including the proposal in Milton Keynes.

Child Care Vouchers

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether qualified teachers working in schools under the control of local education authorities are entitled to participate in the Government's child care voucher scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The scheme referred to works on the basis of 'salary sacrifice'. School teachers at maintained schools in England and Wales are not eligible to participate in salary sacrifice schemes. The School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document, the statutory framework governing teachers' pay, makes no provision for permitting a reduction in salary in any circumstances. However, any teachers may be paid recruitment and retention incentives and benefits of any value or nature, including child care vouchers, in addition to their salary.

Citizenship Curriculum

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what plans she has for reform of the citizenship curriculum;
	(2)  what steps her Department has taken to promote volunteering within the citizenship curriculum;
	(3)  what steps her Department has taken to support teachers in the delivery of the citizenship curriculum.

Jacqui Smith: The Secretary of State has asked the QCA to review curricular provision at Key Stage 3 to ensure that it provides the springboard into the reformed 1419 phase. As part of this, QCA will review the content of citizenship and the non-statutory framework for personal, social and health education in order to ensure greater coherence between the two. The review must ensure that young people secure the key discipline concepts and content in each of the subjects.
	The Department has funded Active Citizens in Schools (ACiS)a pilot which builds on principles of millennium volunteers to encourage 11 to 15-year-olds to make a commitment to volunteering in line with the citizenship curriculum and encourage them to become millennium volunteers when they reach the age of 16. Piloted over three years from 2001, the programme tested how schools can ensure that volunteering activities in which young people engage support curricular objectives, in particular active citizenship through community involvement. We have funded the development of a best practice guide which we are currently disseminating.
	Detailed guidance, produced by the Qualifications and the Curriculum Authority on the teaching of citizenship has been sent to all schools. The Department has also produced a dedicated website including a database giving teachers access to resource materials to support classroom practice. In addition, we have funded the production of a school self-evaluation tool to support schools in monitoring their progress in citizenship education. We have also put in place a package to support teacher continuing professional development (CPD) which involves
	(a) a CPD handbook of good practice, and
	(b) piloting in three centres around the country of CPD certification of effective teaching in citizenship.

City Academies

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to her Answer of 6 June 2005, Official Report, column 331W and 13 June (ref 3259), on city academies, what proportion of lessons in city academies that have been examined by Ofsted were setted.

Jacqui Smith: This information is not collected by either the DfES or Ofsted and there are no plans to do so.

City Academies

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the decision not to include city academies in the two-tier workforce regulations was taken; and what representations were received (a) from trade unions and (b) from other bodies prior to this decision.

Jacqui Smith: Academies are registered independent schools, run by Trusts which are charitable companies limited by guarantee. As such, they are not bound by the same legislative framework as maintained schools, including the Code of Practice on Workforce Matters in Public Sector Service Contracts.
	In response to a consultation to apply the local government Best Value Code to schools in the maintained sector, run by my Department, a total of 21 representations were received of which six were from the Trade Unions with the majority of the remainder from national partner organisations and local education authorities. The vast majority of respondents to the consultations welcomed the new Code, and the introduction of specific regulations to afford protection to school staff.

City Academies

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils in each city academy are entitled to free school meals; how many pupils in schools which formed the basis of each new academy were entitled to free school meals; and what proportion of the school's intake each figure represents in each case.

Jacqui Smith: The requested information is given in the table.
	
		Academies and their predecessor schools: number and percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals1Position in January each year: 2002 to 2005 (provisional)(32)
		
			   2002 
			   Number of pupils3 Number of pupils known to be eligible for school meals Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for school meals 
		
		
			 133386 Greig City Academy
			 102160 St. David and St. Katharine CofE School 859 338 39.3 
			  
			 133768 Unity City Academy
			 111750 Keldrome School 658 308 46.8 
			 111738 Langbaurgh School 457 257 56.2 
			  
			 133769 The Business Academy Bexley
			 101469 Thamesmead Community College 615 282 45.9 
			  
			 134226 Capital City Academy
			 101551 Willesden High School 622 254 40.8 
			  
			 134222 City of London Academy
			  
			 133697 The Walsall City Academy
			 104244 TP Riey School 395 201 50.9 
			  
			 134225 The Academy at Peckham
			 100848 Warwick Park School 960 636 66.3 
			  
			 134223 The King's Academy
			 111752 Brackerhoe Comprehensive 473 254 53.7 
			 111743 Coulby Newham School 712 236 33.1 
			  
			 134369 The West London Academy
			 101929 Compton Sports College 758 298 39.3 
			  
			 134253 Djanogly City Academy Nottingham
			 122946 Djanogly CTC 1,035 276 26.7 
			 122887 Forest Comprehensive School 327 193 59.0 
			  
			 134221 The City Academy Bristol
			 109291 St. George Community College 1,004 317 31.6 
			  
			 134224 Manchester Academy
			 105567 Dulcie High School 551 395 71.7 
			  
			 134797 Stockley Academy
			 102427 Evelyns Community School 665 217 32.6 
			  
			 134798 London Academy
			 101344 Edgware School 1,111 427 38.4 
			  
			 134815 Lambeth Academy
			  
			 134693 Mossbourne Community Academy
			  
			 134814 Northampton Academy
			 122078 Lings Upper School 633 181 28.6 
		
	
	
		
			   2003 
			   Number of pupils3 Number of pupils known to be eligible for school meals Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for school meals 
		
		
			 133386 Greig City Academy 845 364 43.1 
			 102160 St.. David and St. Katharine CofE School
			  
			 133768 Unity City Academy 1,160 570 49.1 
			 111750 Keldrome School
			 111738 Langbaurgh School
			  
			 133769 The Business Academy Bexley 711 297 41.8 
			 101469 Thamesmead Community College
			  
			 134226 Capital City Academy
			 101551 Willesden High School 689 288 41.8 
			  
			 134222 City of London Academy
			  
			 133697 The Walsall City Academy
			 104244 TP Riey School 294 149 50.7 
			  
			 134225 The Academy at Peckham
			 100848 Warwick Park School 950 603 63.5 
			  
			 134223 The King's Academy
			 111752 Brackerhoe Comprehensive 438 247 56.4 
			 111743 Coulby Newham School 737 240 32.6 
			  
			 134369 The West London Academy
			 101929 Compton Sports College 724 302 41.7 
			  
			 134253 Djanogly City Academy Nottingham
			 122946 Djanogly CTC 1,363 414 30.4 
			 122887 Forest Comprehensive School
			  
			 134221 The City Academy Bristol
			 109291 St. George Community College 1,051 373 35.5 
			  
			 134224 Manchester Academy
			 105567 Dulcie High School 575 362 63.0 
			  
			 134797 Stockley Academy
			 102427 Evelyns Community School 581 253 43.5 
			  
			 134798 London Academy
			 101344 Edgware School 1,131 433 38.3 
			  
			 134815 Lambeth Academy
			  
			 134693 Mossbourne Community Academy
			  
			 134814 Northampton Academy
			 122078 Lings Upper School 697 230 33.0 
		
	
	
		
			   2004 
			   Number of pupils3 Number of pupils known to be eligible for school meals Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for school meals 
		
		
			 133386 Greig City Academy 738 345 46.7 
			 102160 St.. David and St. Katharine CofE School
			  
			 133768 Unity City Academy 1,126 559 49.6 
			 111750 Keldrome School
			 111738 Langbaurgh School
			  
			 133769 The Business Academy Bexley 836 306 36.6 
			 101469 Thamesmead Community College
			  
			 134226 Capital City Academy 841 327 38.9 
			 101551 Willesden High School
			  
			 134222 City of London Academy 177 44 24.9 
			  
			 133697 The Walsall City Academy 449 115 25.6 
			 104244 TP Riey School
			  
			 134225 The Academy at Peckham 987 592 60.0 
			 100848 Warwick Park School
			  
			 134223 The King's Academy 1,037 389 37.5 
			 111752 Brackerhoe Comprehensive
			 111743 Coulby Newham School
			  
			 134369 The West London Academy 780 322 41.3 
			 101929 Compton Sports College
			  
			 134253 Djanogly City Academy Nottingham 1,482 591 35.0 
			 122946 Djanogly CTC
			 122887 Forest Comprehensive School
			  
			 134221 The City Academy Bristol 1,086 386 35.5 
			 109291 St. George Community College
			  
			 134224 Manchester Academy 685 347 50.7 
			 105567 Dulcie High School
			  
			 134797 Stockley Academy
			 102427 Evelyns Community School 541 229 42.3 
			  
			 134798 London Academy
			 101344 Edgware School 1,147 455 39.7 
			  
			 134815 Lambeth Academy
			  
			 134693 Mossbourne Community Academy
			  
			 134814 Northampton Academy
			 122078 Lings Upper School 745 197 26.4 
		
	
	
		
			   2005 (provisional)(32) 
			   Number of pupils(33) Number of pupils known to be eligible for school meals Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for school meals 
		
		
			 133386 Greig City Academy 710 320 44.2 
			 102160 St.. David and St. Katharine CofE School
			  
			 133768 Unity City Academy 1,120 550 48.6 
			 111750 Keldrome School
			 111738 Langbaurgh School
			  
			 133769 The Business Academy Bexley 1,380 520 37.9 
			 101469 Thamesmead Community College
			  
			 134226 Capital City Academy 910 310 34.4 
			 101551 Willesden High School
			  
			 134222 City of London Academy 360 100 27.4 
			  
			 133697 The Walsall City Academy 630 100 15.9 
			 104244 TP Riey School
			  
			 134225 The Academy at Peckham 1,080 700 64.6 
			 100848 Warwick Park School
			  
			 134223 The King's Academy 1,040 330 31.5 
			 111752 Brackerhoe Comprehensive
			 111743 Coulby Newham School
			  
			 134369 The West London Academy 1,130 470 42.0 
			 101929 Compton Sports College
			  
			 134253 Djanogly City Academy Nottingham 1,580 560 35.5 
			 122946 Djanogly CTC
			 122887 Forest Comprehensive School
			  
			 134221 The City Academy Bristol 1,100 410 37.4 
			 109291 St. George Community College
			  
			 134224 Manchester Academy 730 340 61.8 
			 105567 Dulcie High School
			  
			 134797 Stockley Academy 580 360 44.3 
			 102427 Evelyns Community School
			  
			 134798 London Academy 1,200 510 42.6 
			 101344 Edgware School
			  
			 134815 Lambeth Academy 180 20 8.7 
			  
			 134693 Mossbourne Community Academy 220 80 37.6 
			  
			 134814 Northampton Academy 1,240 240 18.2 
			 122078 Lings Upper School
		
	
	(31) Figures are as reported by schools and are unconfirmed.
	(32) Provisional figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	(33) Includes pupils of all ages. Also includes dualy registered pupils.
	Source:
	Annual Schools Census

City Academies

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make it her policy that contracts entered into by city academies should be subject to competitive tendering; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: Academies are bound by their Funding Agreements to follow the good practices and procedures set out within the Academies Financial Handbook, which is published by my Department. This document sets out guidance on establishing and maintaining good financial systems and controls, drawing on best practice from both the public and private sectors, including procurement procedures.
	The purchasing and contracting of goods and services in Academies is governedas for other public bodiesby the core principles of probity, accountability and value for money, with governing bodies being required to demonstrate the proper and effective use of public funds. All Academies will have a tendering policy, which will take account of such issues as conflicts of interest; levels of delegation and whether contracts can be entered into by staff or need to be referred to the governing body; the number and requirements of tenders and procedures for their submission and opening; the thresholds above and below which telephone or written tenders need to be obtained; and the documenting of decisions accepting tenders or quotes other than the lowest price. Such policies will also identify where contracts are of sufficient value that they would require tendering under European (OJEU) procurement rules.

English Grammar

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the teaching of grammar in the English curriculum of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

Jacqui Smith: There are well-established national expectations for what children should achieve as they move through primary school, set out in termly word, sentence and text level objectives. The vast majority of maintained primary schools in England teach these through a daily Literacy Hour as recommended by the National Literacy Strategy Framework for Teaching.
	The Framework for teaching English at KS3 and 4 includes guidance on vocabulary, punctuation, sentence construction, grammar and style. It incorporates key principles and activities for the teaching and learning of writing, including sentence-level grammar, appropriate to individual year groups

English SATs

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2005, Official Report, column 193W, regarding the Key Stage 3 English test, 
	(1)  if she will place in the Library the marking guidelines for that test;
	(2)  what proportion of the marks in the Key Stage 3 test in English are explicitly awarded for spelling in (a) the shorter writing test, (b) the longer writing test and (c) overall, as set out in the mark scheme document;
	(3)  if she will ask the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to revise marking guidelines for the Shakespeare paper of the Key Stage 3 English Test to ensure spelling is taken into account in assessing performance.

Jacqui Smith: I have today placed copies of the qualifications and Curriculum Authority's mark scheme for the 2005 Key Stage 3 English test in the Library.
	The proportion of marks awarded for spelling in the Key Stage 3 test in English are 20 per cent. for the shorter writing task, none for the longer writing task and 4 per cent. of the overall English marks. As the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority have said that they will keep that allocation under review, I do not plan to ask them to revise the marking guideline for the Shakespeare paper.

EU Students

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the potential for EU students to avoid deferred fee payments made through the PAYE system once they return to their country of origin after graduation.

Bill Rammell: We anticipate relying on European Council regulation 44/2001 for the recovery of debt from borrowers who live in other parts of the EU. Robust procedures will be in place to ensure that graduates who return to their home countries pay amounts owed when due and that the risk of default is minimised.

Food Programmes

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the forthcoming people first skills strategy will provide an opportunity for non-industry public interest groups to make representations on the need for food preparation and cooking programmes.

Jacqui Smith: People 1st (the sector skills council for the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism industries) have developed a strategy for qualifications for the food preparation and cooking sector and are currently scoping units to meet the industry's needs. The development of the content of these units will be done in collaboration with a range of partners including non-industry public interest groups.

GCSEs

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students did not achieve five A* to C passes in each year since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: The information on the number of 15-year-olds not achieving five or more A*-C grades at GCSE is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of 15-year-old pupils not achieving 5 or more A*-C Number of 15-year-old pupils Percentage of pupils not achieving 5 or more A*-C grades 
		
		
			 2004(34) 297,970 643,574 46.3 
			 2003(35) 292,740 622,122 47.1 
			 2002 293,815 606,554 48.4 
			 2001 301,701 603,318 50.0 
			 2000 294,666 580,393 50.8 
			 1999 302,412 580,972 52.1 
			 1998 308,779 575,210 53.7 
			 1997 321,874 586,766 54.9 
		
	
	(34) 2004 figures are revised and based on GCSE and equivalents basis.
	(35) Figures between 1997 and 2003 only included GCSEs and GNVQs.

GCSEs

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils have left secondary school with a language GCSE Grade C or above in each London borough in each year since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: The information on the number of 15-year-olds in maintained schools achieving at least one modern language GCSE at Grade C or above in each London borough between 1997 and 2004 is provided in the following table.
	
		Number and percentages of 15-year-old pupils in maintained schools achieving at least one modern language GCSE at Grade C or above
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 
			  No./percentage No./percentage No./percentage No./percentage 
		
		
			 City of London 
			 Camden 638 38 711 41 790 48 752 44 
			 Greenwich 544 23 530 23 659 28 523 23 
			 Hackney 358 27 364 27 515 36 453 32 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 261 26 394 40 551 57 418 40 
			 Islington 307 22 332 24 379 27 337 25 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 209 38 237 43 301 51 244 41 
			 Lambeth 267 22 283 23 361 29 292 23 
			 Lewisham 415 21 490 24 584 28 600 29 
			 Southwark 315 18 352 20 366 20 304 17 
			 Tower Hamlets 758 32 790 35 832 37 797 34 
			 Wandsworth 392 24 472 29 604 35 603 35 
			 City of Westminster 368 28 401 31 472 37 431 32 
			 Barking and Dagenham 336 20 308 18 393 23 382 22 
			 Barnet 1,323 41 1,534 47 1,902 58 1,662 50 
			 Bexley 850 34 903 36 1,065 42 1,054 40 
			 Brent 701 33 789 36 867 39 874 38 
			 Bromley 1 ,223 41 1,296 44 1,708 55 1,409 48 
			 Croydon 1,238 38 1,016 31 1,225 39 1,179 37 
			 Ealing 801 32 916 38 1,045 43 943 39 
			 Enfield 1,049 33 1,060 34 1,500 48 1,256 39 
			 Haringey 502 29 559 31 654 37 708 38 
			 Harrow 797 38 833 40 1,027 52 931 45 
			 Havering 756 27 938 34 1,088 41 975 37 
			 Hillingdon 670 27 784 32 948 38 878 35 
			 Hounslow 811 31 908 36 981 39 869 34 
			 Kingston upon Thames 560 43 638 48 720 54 669 50 
			 Merton 374 24 399 25 427 27 479 31 
			 Newham 770 29 806 29 1,001 35 950 32 
			 Redbridge 1,013 39 1,181 45 1,471 54 1,348 46 
			 Richmond upon Thames 535 35 541 38 690 47 568 40 
			 Sutton 862 43 924 47 1,304 64 1,083 53 
			 Waltham Forest 694 31 656 28 752 32 686 29 
			 London 20,697 31 22,345 34 27,182 41 24,657 37 
		
	
	
		
			  2001 2002 2003 2004(36) 
			  No./percentage No./percentage No./percentage No./percentage 
		
		
			 City of London 
			 Camden 709 43 600 42 526 37 587 41 
			 Greenwich 616 27 550 23 432 18 466 18 
			 Hackney 475 34 451 31 430 31 424 33 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 448 43 457 42 495 44 492 42 
			 Islington 341 25 423 31 416 32 410 29 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 282 48 281 49 300 51 284 49 
			 Lambeth 308 24 333 26 374 28 386 28 
			 Lewisham 655 30 644 30 583 26 597 26 
			 Southwark 347 19 401 21 357 18 428 21 
			 Tower Hamlets 809 33 832 35 883 35 754 31 
			 Wandsworth 656 37 647 36 587 33 575 31 
			 City of Westminster 467 37 484 37 505 38 496 35 
			 Barking and Dagenham 357 21 284 17 295 17 302 15 
			 Barnet 1,678 49 1,756 51 1,678 48 1,786 50 
			 Bexley 1,111 39 999 36 1,016 34 1,064 35 
			 Brent 902 38 1,020 39 1,002 38 1,030 39 
			 Bromley 1,455 45 1,511 45 1,365 40 1,411 39 
			 Croydon 1,247 37 1,291 39 1,146 33 1,175 32 
			 Ealing 987 41 879 36 992 37 974 36 
			 Enfield 1,333 40 1,264 38 1,304 39 1,321 39 
			 Haringey 718 39 714 37 657 33 734 34 
			 Harrow 904 44 952 46 922 43 993 45 
			 Havering 1,140 40 1,213 42 1,213 42 1,350 44 
			 Hillingdon 821 31 795 31 768 29 887 30 
			 Hounslow 951 36 977 38 957 36 974 37 
			 Kingston upon Thames 702 51 692 50 707 50 683 46 
			 Merton 433 29 394 25 407 26 421 26 
			 Newham 1,081 36 1,085 37 988 32 1,140 36 
			 Redbridge 1,438 51 1,476 51 1,415 47 1,379 46 
			 Richmond upon Thames 646 44 603 41 604 41 553 37 
			 Sutton 1,120 51 1,240 55 1,197 51 1,364 52 
			 Waltham Forest 783 33 806 34 736 31 784 30 
			 London 25,920 38 26,054 38 25,257 36 26,224 36 
		
	
	(36) 2004 figures are revised.

Higher Education Institutions

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many departments of (a) Chinese, (b) Arabic, (c) chemistry, (d) physics and (e) mathematics there were in higher education institutions in England in each year between 1994 and 2004; and what the projected numbers are for each year from 2005 to 2010.

Bill Rammell: Information on the closure, merger or opening of particular university courses and departments is not collected by the Department. Higher Education Institutions are autonomous organisations responsible for their own academic direction and strategic use of funds, and any decisions on closures of departments are made by them, not by Government or the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
	The then Secretary of State for Education and Skills wrote to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) at the beginning of December 2004 asking their advice on what types of action should be considered to strengthen and secure subjects of strategic national importance, including mathematics and science. HEFCE have set up an expert group to look at this issue and to report to the HEFCE board this month. The board will inform Ministers of the outcome.

Home-School Agreements

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the Answer of 13 June, Ref 4022, regarding home-school agreements, if she will request from Ofsted the number of schools that have drawn up home-school agreements.

Jacqui Smith: Ofsted does not collect this information. During inspections Ofsted looks generally at whether a school is meeting its statutory requirements. However, it does not look specifically at whether a school has a Home-School Agreement (HSA) in place. As I said in my earlier reply, we expect all maintained schools to have HSAs in place.

London Fringe Allowance

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will extend the London fringe allowance for teachers to include Castle Point; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: There are no plans to extend the London fringe allowance for teachers' pay. However, any teachers may be paid recruitment and retention incentives and benefits of any value or nature in addition to their salary, and this is a matter for their schools to decide in the light of local circumstances.

London Fringe Allowance

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research her Department has conducted on the impact of ending the teacher salary London fringe allowance at the A130 on teacher recruitment and retention to the east of the A130; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The Department has not conducted research on the impact on teacher recruitment and retention east of the A130. The Department does evaluate the impact of teachers' pay arrangements and the strategies used to support recruitment and retention. Recent evidence to the School Teachers' Review Body, submitted jointly with our partners from teacher unions and employers, points to the positive impact these strategies are having on teacher recruitment and retention while accepting that there continue to be pressures in places. All schools have discretion to use recruitment and retention incentives to ease any local pressures they face.

London Fringe Allowance

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent on (a) inner, (b) outer and (c) fringe allowances for teaching salaries in the last year for which figures are available.

Jacqui Smith: The figures requested are in the following table.
	
		Costs in  million
		
			 Financial year Inner London Outer London Fringe areas Total 
		
		
			 200304(37)  83 27 111 
			 200203 116 71 24 211 
			 200102 109 67 22 197 
			 200001 83 51 17 150 
		
	
	(37) Inner London allowances were abolished in April 2003 with the introduction of the Inner London Pay Scales.

Mathematics

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidelines accompany the Framework for Teaching Mathematics: Reception to Year 6 document.

Jacqui Smith: A range of documents have been produced that develop further the guidance set out in the Framework. Key guidance documents include Mathematical Vocabulary which lists the important vocabulary for all year groups; Teaching Mental Calculation Strategies; Teaching Written Calculations and sample medium-term lesson plans to demonstrate to teachers how to plan for progression in mathematics.

National Literacy Strategy

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on proposed changes to the National Literacy Strategy.

Bill Rammell: We have appointed Jim Rose to make recommendations on best practice in the teaching of early reading and synthetic phonics in primary schools and early years settings, covering content and pace of learning. He will also make recommendations on the best support for children with significant literacy difficulties to enable them to catch up with their peers, and the relationship between such targeted intervention programmes with synthetic phonics.
	Mr. Rose's recommendations will draw on an examination of both academic research and classroom best practice in schools and early years settings, as well as recent reports by the Education and Skills Select Committee, Ofsted and the Clackmannanshire study. He will provide an interim report in November 2005 and make final recommendations early in 2006. Mr. Rose's findings will inform a renewal of the National Literacy Strategy framework for teaching.

New Schools

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the requirement for building new schools in England.

Jacqui Smith: The demand for building new schools will depend on local factors such as pupil numbers, the capacity of existing schools, and the condition and suitability of existing buildings. Whether it is better value to refurbish or extend an existing school or to build new is a matter for local option appraisal and discussion. Local authorities assess these factors and we do not collect this information centrally.

Nutrition

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether nutrition education was included in the training of school catering managers between 1975 and 1990.

Jacqui Smith: We have no record of a specific qualification for school catering managers between 1975 and 1990.

Nutrition

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will recommend that the School Food Trust consider the NVQ approach to work-based assessment of nutritional competence at levels 1 to 4.

Jacqui Smith: We are working with People 1st (the sector skills council for the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism industries), the Food Standards Agency, the Teacher Training Agency, the Learning and Skills Council and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to review and build on the range of catering qualifications that are currently available, including NVQs. Our aim is to ensure that we have a ladder of qualifications that include information on nutritional standards where appropriate, meet the skills needs of all catering staff, and support progression from the level1 VRQ.

Nutrition

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the timetable is for the review of school nutrition standards.

Jacqui Smith: The School Meals Review Panel will make their recommendations to Ministers on the new draft nutritional standards in early September. A public consultation will follow, in the usual manner. The new standards will become mandatory in schools from September 2006.

Out-of-Hours Learning

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what her estimate is of the proportion of secondary schools that are ensuring that children in years 10 and 11 are set, on average, between one and a half and two and a half hours of homework per day;
	(2)  what her estimate is of the proportion of secondary schools that are ensuring that children in year 9 are set, on average, between one and two hours of homework per day;
	(3)  what her estimate is of the proportion of secondary schools that are ensuring that children in years 7 and 8 are set, on average, between 45 and 90 minutes of homework per day;
	(4)  what her estimate is of the proportion of primary schools that are ensuring that children in years 3 and 4 are set, on average, about one and a half hours of homework per week;
	(5)  what her estimate is of the proportion of primary schools that are ensuring that children in years 5 and 6 are set, on average, about 30 minutes of homework per day;
	(6)  what her estimate is of the proportion of primary schools that are ensuring that children in years 1 and 2 are set, on average, about one hour of homework per week;
	(7)  what her estimate is of the proportion of schools that have a written policy on homework which is publicly available on request;
	(8)  what her assessment is of progress in improving homework policies within (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools since the publication of the relevant guidelines in November 1998.

Jacqui Smith: The Government considers that learning at home is an essential part of the good education to which all our children are entitled. We know, and Ofsted confirm, that a well organised homework programme helps children and young people to develop the skills and attitudes they will need for successful, independent life long learning. Currently my Department does not collect information on individual school's homework policies or the amount of homework they set. We believe it is for schools themselves to make their own decisions in this area, taking account of the Homework Guidelines for Primary and Secondary Schools we provide. Home-school agreements, which we introduced in 1999, promote partnerships between schools and parents, and assist parents in supporting their children's learning at home, including their completion of homework.

Overseas Students

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many EU students commenced courses at English universities in each year since 1997, broken down by member state; and how much was paid by them in tuition fees in each of those years.

Bill Rammell: The two tables given in this answer give data from different sources and hence the two sets of figures are not comparable.
	The available information on the number of EU domiciled entrants to full time undergraduate courses at English HE institutions is given in the following table.
	
		EU domiciled entrants(38)(5507900039)(40) to full time undergraduate courses at English HE institutions for academic years 1997/98 to 2003/04
		
			 Domicile 1997/98 1998/99 1999/2000 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 
		
		
			 Austria 355 410 380 410 340 370 405 
			 Belgium 580 600 615 570 530 505 565 
			 Denmark 525 575 545 480 485 490 465 
			 Finland 990 1,030 845 740 655 575 575 
			 France 4,465 5,320 5,075 4,775 4,425 4,370 4,645 
			 Germany 3,785 4,615 4,400 4,285 3,775 3,765 3,815 
			 Gibraltar 130 165 150 200 140 140 140 
			 Greece 6,500 5,925 5,120 4,230 3,030 2,415 1,905 
			 Irish Republic 2,145 2,035 1,670 1,275 1,220 1,225 1,400 
			 Italy 1,325 1,615 1,645 1,605 1,505 1,500 1,395 
			 Luxembourg 130 140 140 155 135 140 140 
			 Netherlands 595 790 720 615 500 555 530 
			 Portugal 450 440 455 445 450 440 510 
			 Spain 2,505 3,045 3,025 2,870 2,885 2,715 2,850 
			 Sweden 1,330 1,405 1,320 1,175 995 930 890 
			 Total EU 25,815 28,105 26,105 23,835 21,070 20,135 20,230 
		
	
	(38) Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 and so totals may not sum.
	(39) Figures include entrants to 1st degree, foundation degree, HND/C, Diploma of HE and other undergraduate diplomas, certificates and credits.
	(40) HESA entrant figures are not directly comparable to accepted applicant figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) due to differences in coverage.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record
	The amount of private contributions to tuition fees by students from the European Union in HE in English institutions from academic year 1999/2000 to 2003/04 is given in the following table.
	
		Private contributions to tuition fees by students domiciled in the European Union studying higher education in England for academic years 1999/2000(41) to 2003/04(42)
		
			 Academic year  million 
		
		
			 1999/2000 6.7 
			 2000/01 7.6 
			 2001/02 6.1 
			 2002/03 5.7 
			 2003/04 5.5 
		
	
	(41) Tuition fees were introduced in academic year 1998/99, however as that year was treated as a transitional year, data are not available on the same basis as subsequent years.
	(42) Latest year for which data are available.
	Source:
	Student Loans Company

Overseas Students

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students from EU member states applied for entry to English universities in 200405; and how many were offered a place, broken down by EU member state.

Bill Rammell: The available information is taken from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) which covers applicants and accepted applicants to full time first degree, HMD, Diploma of HE and Foundation degree courses at UCAS member institutions. Figures are given in the table.
	
		EU domiciled applicants1, 2 and accepted applicants tofull-time undergraduate courses at English institutions by domicile, 2004 entry -- Number
		
			 Country of domicile Applicants Accepted applicants 
		
		
			 Austria 335 195 
			 Belgium 635 405 
			 Denmark 430 255 
			 Finland 585 300 
			 France 2,980 1,595 
			 Germany 2,605 1,395 
			 Gibralter 220 165 
			 Greece 2,250 1,370 
			 Irish Republic 7,180 1,510 
			 Italy 865 440 
			 Luxembourg 230 130 
			 Netherlands 490 240 
			 Portugal 680 325 
			 Spain 1,090 645 
			 Sweden 1,235 590 
			 Total EU 21,805 9,560 
			
			 Cyprus 1,875 1,295 
			 Czech Republic 205 135 
			 Estonia 65 45 
			 Hungary 160 100 
			 Latvia 75 45 
			 Lithuania 95 55 
			 Malta 65 35 
			 Poland 675 445 
			 Slovakia 135 90 
			 Slovenia 55 30 
			 Total EU accession countries 3,410 2,270 
			
			 Total All EU 25,215 11,830 
		
	
	(43) Figures have been rounded to the nearest five so totals may not sum.
	(44) Although the majority of applicants apply through UCAS, it is possible to apply direct to the institution.
	Source:
	Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS)

Partnerships for Schools

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which companies are part of the Partnerships for Schools advisory body; how many of those companies are also advising local authorities on projects; and which companies are part of consortia bidding for projects.

Jacqui Smith: Partnerships for Schools (PfS) was designated as a non-departmental public body from 1 April 2004 under a joint venture agreement between DfES and Partnerships UK and is a private limited company incorporated under the Companies Act 1985. The company is limited by shares and is wholly owned by the DfES. It has been established to support the local delivery of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.
	Information regarding the companies which are advising local authorities on projects and those which are part of consortia bidding for projects is not held centrally.

Performance Related Pay

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of teachers in England have not qualified for the performance related pay scheme since its establishment.

Jacqui Smith: The requested information is not available in the format requested.
	In January 2004 there were 387,500 (headcount) number of regular teachers employed on the classroom and post threshold pay scales. Of these 48 per cent. were employed on the classroom pay scale. It is estimated that around three quarters of these had not reached the highest point of the scale and were therefore not eligible to apply for threshold assessment.

Postgraduates

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many postgraduates gained (a) Master of Arts level, (b) Master of Science level, (c) Master of Business Administration level and (d) Master of Philosophy level qualifications from higher education institutions in England in each year between 1994 and 2004.

Bill Rammell: The Department does not hold specific information on the type of masters degree obtained. The overall number of masters qualifications is in the table:
	
		Masters qualifications at English higher education institutions
		
			  1994/95 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 1998/99 
		
		
			 Medicine and dentistry 970 700 1,170 1,125 1,310 
			 Subjects allied to medicine 1,120 1,220 1,510 1,540 1,710 
			 Biological sciences 795 1,055 1,230 1,540 1,715 
			 Veterinary science 30 40 40 50 25 
			 Agriculture and related subjects 460 415 490 420 475 
			 Physical sciences 1,285 1,615 1,660 1,730 1,780 
			 Mathematical sciences 440 560 455 465 380 
			 Computer science 1,515 1,665 1,850 2,135 2,470 
			 Engineering and technology 3,655 4,070 3,885 4,175 4,605 
			 Architecture, building and planning 870 695 770 865 1,045 
			 Social studies 4,145 5,205 5,135 5,655 6,135 
			 Law 915 1,555 1,435 1,970 2,155 
			 Business and administrative studies 7,295 8,600 8,925 9,830 10,435 
			 Mass communications and documentation 485 610 735 865 1,025 
			 Languages 1,590 1,960 1,975 2,220 2,050 
			 Historical and philosophical studies 1,225 1,615 1,755 1,965 2,020 
			 Creative arts and design 1,390 1,510 1,775 2,275 2,275 
			 Education 2,420 2,655 2,630 2,915 2,815 
			 Combined 2,425 2,775 2,635 2,635 2,455 
			 Total 33,025 38,545 40,065 44,370 46,865 
		
	
	
		
			  1999/2000 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 
		
		
			 Medicine and dentistry 1,320 1,380 1,420 990 1,445 
			 Subjects allied to medicine 1,780 1,925 1,945 2,170 2,540 
			 Biological sciences 1,965 2,000 2,080 2,750 3,320 
			 Veterinary science 30 65 60 40 30 
			 Agriculture and related subjects 515 415 555 565 680 
			 Physical sciences 1,850 1,740 1,705 1,975 2,575 
			 Mathematical sciences 445 385 540 630 810 
			 Computer science 3,010 3,325 4,040 4,580 4,770 
			 Engineering and technology 4,505 4,925 4,690 4,970 6,050 
			 Architecture, building and planning 1,060 1,125 1,200 1,250 1,585 
			 Social studies 6,675 7,045 7,280 7,290 9,345 
			 Law 2,340 2,610 2,935 3,885 3,790 
			 Business and administrative studies 12,005 13,065 14,480 15,955 20,965 
			 Mass communications and documentation 1,175 1,310 1,595 1,770 2,210 
			 Languages 2,330 2,335 2,445 3,120 3,745 
			 Historical and philosophical studies 2,345 1,985 2,380 2,560 2,905 
			 Creative arts and design 2,705 2,955 3,100 3,225 3,465 
			 Education 2,890 2,930 2,990 2,675 2,790 
			 Combined 2,905 2,640 2,335 2,310 30 
			 Total 51,850 54,160 57,785 62,710 73,050 
		
	
	Note:
	The figures are taken from the HESA student record which has been collected annually by the Higher Education Statistics Agency since 1994/95, and cover home and overseas students obtaining masters qualifications at English higher education institutions. There is a pronounced drop in the number of students in the 'combined' category for 2003/04this is due to a change in the way the Open University returns its data to HESA.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.

Pupil Funding

Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the F40 group pupil entitlement model of funding; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The F40 group model provides a framework for local authorities to inform their decisions on the distribution of funding between their schools, as do other pupil entitlement or needs led models. I met representatives of the F40 group on Thursday 16 June to discuss their model.

Pupil Numbers (Gloucestershire)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children attended schools in Gloucestershire local education authority area in 200405, broken down by local authority area; and what the projected figures are for 200506.

Jacqui Smith: The available information is given in the table.
	
		Maintained primary and secondary schools(45): Actual and projected numbers of pupils (headcount) 2004/05 and 2005/06Gloucestershire Local Education Authority area
		
			  Number (headcount) of pupils 
			  2004/05 (Provisional)(46) 2005/06 (Projected)(47) 
			  Primary level(48) Secondary level(49) Primary level(48) Secondary level(49) 
		
		
			 Cheltenham 6,350 5,960 n/a n/a 
			 Cotswold 5,240 5,770 n/a n/a 
			 Forest of  Dean 5,670 5,550 n/a n/a 
			 Gloucester 8,330 8,750 n/a n/a 
			 Stroud 7,900 7,330 n/a n/a 
			 Tewkesbury 4,990 7,290 n/a n/a 
			 Gloucestershire LEA 38,480 40,650 44,320 41,210 
		
	
	n/a=not available
	(45) Includes middle schools as deemed.
	(46) SourceAnnual Schools Census. Figures are as at January 2005 and are provisional.
	(47) SourceSurplus Places Survey 2004. Figures are not available at Local Authority level.
	(48) Pupils aged four to 10 as at 31 August 2004.
	(49) Pupils aged 11 and over as at 31 August 2004.
	Note:
	Pupils numbers nave been rounded to the nearest 10.

Pupil Spending

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average spending per (a) primary and (b) secondary pupil in each local education authority in England is in 200506.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is given in the table as follows:
	
		
			  Pupils aged 310 Pupils aged 1115 
		
		
			 England: per pupil () 3,840 4,700 
			 Barking and Dagenham 4,320 5,290 
			 Barnet 4,240 5,150 
			 Barnsley 3,750 4,680 
			 Bath and North East   
			 Somerset 3,440 4,210 
			 Bedfordshire 3,640 4,530 
			 Bexley 3,760 4,640 
			 Birmingham 4,200 5,260 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 4,170 5,070 
			 Blackpool 3,740 4,740 
			 Bolton 3,800 4,560 
			 Bournemouth 3,470 4,280 
			 Bracknell Forest 3,690 4,770 
			 Bradford 4,020 4,970 
			 Brent 4,830 6,050 
			 Brighton and Hove 3,840 4,760 
			 Bristol, City of 3,870 5,050 
			 Bromley 3,780 4,710 
			 Buckinghamshire 3,680 4,530 
			 Bury 3,600 4,420 
			 Calderdale 3,740 4,580 
			 Cambridgeshire 3,610 4,370 
			 Camden 5,710 6,820 
			 Cheshire 3,480 4,260 
			 Cornwall 3,650 4,370 
			 Coventry 3,900 4,760 
			 Croydon 4,080 5,220 
			 Cumbria 3,690 4,440 
			 Darlington 3,720 4,550 
			 Derby 3,770 4,630 
			 Derbyshire 3,520 4,280 
			 Devon 3,580 4,310 
			 Doncaster 3,830 4,730 
			 Dorset 3,450 4,240 
			 Dudley 3,560 4,440 
			 Durham 3,770 4,630 
			 Haling 4,670 5,840 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 3,510 4,220 
			 East Sussex 3,750 4,630 
			 Enfield 4,280 5,190 
			 Essex 3,690 4,550 
			 Gateshead 3,830 4,820 
			 Gloucestershire 3,500 4,280 
			 Greenwich 5,200 6.460 
			 Hackney 5,900 7,670 
			 Halton 4,030 5,050 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 5,550 6,780 
			 Hampshire 3,520 4,340 
			 Haringey 4,980 6,290 
			 Harrow 4,220 5,140 
			 Hartlepool 3,920 4,880 
			 Havering 3,730 4,710 
			 Herefordshire 3,780 4,500 
			 Hertfordshire 3,610 4,460 
			 Hillingdon 4,120 5,060 
			 Hounslow 4,550 5,470 
			 Isle of Wight 3,780 4,690 
			 Islington 5,700 7,210 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 5,700 7,200 
			 Kent 3,680 4,580 
			 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 3,970 4,940 
			 Kingston upon Thames 3,890 4,790 
			 Kirklees 3,820 4,690 
			 Knowsley 4,220 5,320 
			 Lambeth 5,700 7,600 
			 Lancashire 3,640 4,450 
			 Leeds 3,710 4,630 
			 Leicester 4,150 4,950 
			 Leicestershire 3,330 4,060 
			 Lewisham 5,340 6,950 
			 Lincolnshire 3,640 4,440 
			 Liverpool 4,150 5,190 
			 Luton 4,120 5,140 
			 Manchester 4,400 5,560 
			 Medway 3,580 4,460 
			 Merton 4,220 5,210 
			 Middlesbrough 4,230 5,710 
			 Milton Keynes 3,860 4,750 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 4,010 4,970 
			 Newham 4,960 5,980 
			 Norfolk 3,690 4,420 
			 North East Lincolnshire 3,760 4,670 
			 North Lincolnshire 3,720 4,550 
			 North Somerset 3,520 4,340 
			 North Tyneside 3,630 4,630 
			 North Yorkshire 3,610 4,250 
			 Northamptonshire 3,570 4,390 
			 Northumberland 3,650 4,530 
			 Nottingham 4,240 5,450 
			 Nottinghamshire 3,480 4,240 
			 Oldham 3,970 4,820 
			 Oxfordshire 3,690 4,500 
			 Peterborough 3,910 4,820 
			 Plymouth 3,580 4,470 
			 Poole 3,340 4,210 
			 Portsmouth 3,800 4,780 
			 Reading 4,080 5,290 
			 Redbridge 4,030 4,810 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 3,850 4,730 
			 Richmond upon Thames 3,820 4,780 
			 Rochdale 4,010 4,990 
			 Rotherham 3,760 4,610 
			 Rutland 3,660 4,390 
			 Salford 3.990 5,010 
			 Sandwell 3,980 4,920 
			 Sefton 3,690 4,630 
			 Sheffield 3,770 4,720 
			 Shropshire 3,640 4,370 
			 Slough 4,410 5,510 
			 Solihull 3,480 4,270 
			 Somerset 3,530 4,370 
			 South Gloucestershire 3,380 4,220 
			 South Tyneside 3,960 4,830 
			 Southampton 3,930 4,860 
			 Southend-on-Sea 3,770 4,720 
			 Southwark 5,480 7,210 
			 St. Helens 3,760 4,730 
			 Staffordshire 3,400 4,180 
			 Stockport 3,460 4,280 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 3,780 4,710 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 3,890 4,900 
			 Suffolk 3,480 4,280 
			 Sunderland 3,820 4,750 
			 Surrey 3,660 4,520 
			 Sutton 3,850 4,710 
			 Swindon 3,560 4,410 
			 Tameside 3,680 4,560 
			 Telford and Wrekin 3,700 4,560 
			 Thurrock 3,900 4,950 
			 Torbay 3,530 4,400 
			 Tower Hamlets 6,130 7,360 
			 Trafford 3,530 4,350 
			 Wakefield 3,670 4,470 
			 Walsall 3,800 4,620 
			 Waltham Forest 4,540 5,680 
			 Wandsworth 5,050 6,360 
			 Warrington 3,390 4,200 
			 Warwickshire 3,520 4,310 
			 West Berkshire 3,770 4,560 
			 West Sussex 3,590 4,380 
			 Westminster 5,450 6,460 
			 Wigan 3,600 4,430 
			 Wiltshire 3,590 4,290 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 3,770 4,690 
			 Wirral 3,760 4,730 
			 Wokingham 3,610 4,490 
			 Wolverhampton 3,970 5,020 
			 Worcestershire 3,400 4,240 
			 York 3,400 4,270 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Total spending on schools by LEAs is not yet available. The figures provided show the funding allocated to each LEA by the Government for pupils aged 310 and 1115.
	2. Total funding includes funding via the relevant sub-blocks of the Education Formula Spending settlement / Standard Spending Assessment and revenue grants allocated at an LEA level. It includes the pensions transfer to EPS and the Learning and Skills Council, and is in cash terms.
	3. Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DfES Departmental Expenditure Limits relevant to pupils aged 310 and 1115, and exclude EMAs and grants not allocated at LEA level. For those LEAs in receipt of advance of grant under the transitional support arrangements for 200405, advance grant funding is included in the year of payment (200405). There will be a consequential reduction in DfES grant for these LEAs in future years (either 200607 and 200708 or 200809, depending on the terms on which the advance was given to the LEA).
	4. The pupil numbers used to convert  million figures to per pupil are those underlying the SSA/EFS settlement calculations plus PLASC 3-year-old maintained pupils and estimated 3 to 4-year-olds funded through state support in maintained and other educational institutions where these are not included in the SSA pupil numbers.
	5. Rounding: Per pupil figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Total allocation figures are rounded to the nearest 10 million.
	6. 200506 figures are provisional as some grants have not yet been finalised/validated.

School Admissions

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list decisions by the schools adjudicator in respect of published admission numbers where the recommendation of the local education authority has been rejected in each of the last three years, broken down by (a) local education authority and (b) reasons for the decision.

Jacqui Smith: Adjudicators are independent of the Department for Education and Skills. Details of the decisions they have made are published each year by the Office of the Schools Adjudicator in their Annual Report. Copies, for each year since the office was created in April 1999, have been placed in the House Library. All adjudicator decisions can be read in full on the school adjudicator website at www.schoolsadjudicator.gov.uk

School Building

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what capital funding is available to schools for 200607; and how much of that funding is accounted for by (a) devolved capital expenditure, (b) Building Schools for the Future funding and (c) specific capital programmes.

Jacqui Smith: The capital funding currently budgeted for schools for 200607 is tabled as follows:
	
		
			   million 
		
		
			 Devolved formula capital 1,000 
			 Buildings Schools for the Future 2,177 
			   
			 Specific Capital Programmes:  
			 Specialist Schools 35 
			 Voluntary aided schools 444 
			 Sustainable transport 20 
			 Modernisation 602 
			 Basic need 400 
			 School access initiative 84 
			 Targeted capital fund 300 
			 LSC 16 to 19 joint budget contribution 70 
			 Other ICT 249 
			 Academies 365 
			 Other 9 
			 Total 5,755

School Building

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance her Department has produced for building special schools under the Building Schools for the Future programme.

Jacqui Smith: We have issued guidance on how to include special schools in the educational vision for an area receiving Building Schools for the Future.
	We are also consulting on building and design guidance for special schools, which will apply to Building Schools for the Future and other programmes. This is an update of non-statutory design guidance in the new draft Building Bulletin 77: Designing for Pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, which was issued on the website for public consultation between 1 April 200524 June 2005.

School Building

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the cost of building (a) a special school and (b) a mainstream school under the Building Schools for the Future programme.

Jacqui Smith: The cost of a school will depend on the number of pupils and their needs which will vary locally in each case. As an example, under Building Schools for the future programme, an estimated cost for an average 900 place mainstream secondary school without a sixth form may be approximately 15 million gross cost and an estimated cost for an average 72 place special school for pupils with severe complex needs may be 7.5 million gross cost. These cost estimates are current and are based on DfES cost data averaged across a range of schools. They include for furniture, fittings ICT and equipment, professional fees, an average location factor and an allowance for abnormal costs e.g for site works. The costs for the mainstream secondary school are based on the agreed basic net cost rates per square metre of 1,224/m 2 . The cost rate used for the special school for pupils with severe and complex needs is the proposed rate of 1,554/m 2 and is subject to the public consultation of the draft improved building standards in Building Bulletin 77. These proposed standards and their costs will apply equally to BSF and other school projects. It must be emphasised that costs will vary greatly across the country and will increase substantially in certain locations.

School Building

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of the sum allocated for school repairs in the last Budget has been spent.

Jacqui Smith: An additional 650 million was promised in the last Budget in respect of capital work on primary schools, to be allocated in the financial years 200809 and 200910. This is in support of the Government's aim that half of the primary stock will be rebuilt or refurbished over a 15 year period. Details will be announced in late 2005.

School Building

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much public funding has been spent on repairs to school buildings in Gloucestershire in each year since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: Revenue expenditure figures on the maintenance and improvement of schools are likely to vary from year to year depending on the unique circumstances of a particular LEA. For example, revenue expenditure will increase in years where there have been adverse weather conditions (e.g. repairing storm damage) and is also likely to vary with the number and age of the school buildings within the LEA. Revenue expenditure will also be affected by the amounts of capital expenditure employed at a school. Capital spending in Gloucestershire LEA on school buildings has increased from 7.95 million in 199798 to 36.78 million in 200405.
	The information concerning public funding spent on repairing schools in Gloucestershire is contained within the following table:
	
		Maintenance and improvement of school buildings and grounds in Gloucestershire LEA since 1997 -- (50)
		
			  
		
		
			 199798(51)(5507900052) 3,712,000 
			 199899(51)(5507900052) 4,307,000 
			   
			 19992000(51)(5507900052) 10,756,000 
			 200001(51)(5507900052) 9,490,000 
			 200102(51)(5507900052) 9,307,000, 
			   
			 200203(51)(5507900052) 5,259,000 
			 200304(51)(5507900052) 5,446,000 
		
	
	(50) Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000.
	(51) Figures for 199798 to 200102 cover the repair and maintenance of buildings, fixed plant and grounds which includes all expenditure on non-capital building works, including repairs and maintenance of buildings, and non-capital expenditure on fixed plant and grounds. Figures for 200203 and 200304 are the combination of the revenue expenditure on building (including fixed plant) maintenance and improvement and grounds maintenance and improvement (CFR categories E12+E13). Any capital expenditure on school buildings is not included in this table.
	(52) Figures for 200203 onwards will not be directly comparable with the figures for earlier years as figures for 199798 to 200102 are for all LEA maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools (pre-primary expenditure accounts for 8,500, 15,000 and 138,000 of the respective totals in 19992000, 200001 and 200102) while nursery figures for 200203 and 200304 are not available and have therefore been excluded for these two years. Also, for some LEAs, expenditure that had previously been attributed to the school sectors was reported within the LEA part of the form in 200203 and 200304 and would therefore be excluded from the totals for those years although the precise amount of this is not quantifiable from existing sources.
	Notes:
	1.The blank rows denote the change of source from LEAs' education Revenue Outturn Statements submitted to ODPM to Section 52 Outturn Statements in 19992000, and to the review of the Section 52 categories in 200203 following the introduction of Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) to schools.
	2.The Department is due to collect the figures for 200405 in October 2005.

School Expansion

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to allow successful schools to expand their present capacity.

Jacqui Smith: We strongly support the expansion of successful and popular schools where they believe they can sustain their quality. We have therefore provided that all schools may publish their own proposals to expand, and introduced a presumption that proposals by successful and popular schools should be approved so that as many parents as possible are able to gain a place for their child at the school of their choice. In addition, successful and popular secondary schools may apply direct to the Department for a contribution to the capital cost of any necessary building work. If the balance of funding is not available from other sources, the Department may fund the full cost, which may be recouped from the local authority.
	We have also consulted on proposals to speed up the expansion process for secondary schools, and give them a right of appeal to the Schools Adjudicator if their proposals are rejected by the local School Organisation Committee.

School Meals

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 7 June 2005, Official Report, column 477W, on school meals, how many schools provide (a) vegetables and (b) fruit on a majority of school days.

Jacqui Smith: The Department does not hold this information centrally. However current nutritional guidelines stipulate that, for primary and secondary schools, a piece of fruit and a vegetable must be available on the menu every day.
	The Department of Health is funding the school fruit and vegetable scheme, part of the 5 A DAY programme, to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. Under the scheme, all four to six-year-old children in LEA maintained infant, primary and special schools will be entitled to a free piece of fruit or vegetable each school day.

School Meals

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment her Department has made of the impact of existing catering contracts on plans to improve school meals services.

Jacqui Smith: We will expect all schools to meet the new standards for school mealswhether they have LEA catering provision, in-house catering or contract directly with a private provider. That is why we are working closely with all stakeholders, including industry, to develop and implement the transformation.
	Officials are examining the implications of a change to the law for existing contracts, for when the proposed tougher minimum nutritional standards become mandatory in September 2006. We envisage that the majority will not present a problem, but are working to understand the scale and nature of any potential difficulties.

School Places (Berkshire)

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many vacant (a) primary and (b) secondary school places there are in each local education authority in Berkshire.

Jacqui Smith: The latest published figures on the number of empty primary and secondary places in each local authority in Berkshire are set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Local authority Primary Secondary 
		
		
			 Bracknell Forest 972 895 
			 Reading 1,751 854 
			 Slough 1,564 309 
			 West Berkshire 1,328 330 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 670 524 
			 Wokingham 1,304 316 
			 Total 7,589 3,228 
		
	
	Source:
	Surplus Places Survey 2003

School Places (Berkshire)

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many secondary school exclusions there have been in each local education authority in Berkshire in each year since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: The requested information is given in the table. Figures for 2003/04 will be available from 23 June 2005.
	
		Maintained secondary schools1: Number and percentage of permanently excluded pupils 1997/98 to 2002/03
		
			   1997/98 1998/99 1999/2000 
			   Number Percentage(54) Number Percentage(54) Number Percentage(54) 
		
		
			 867 Bracknell Forest 32 0.52 36 0.99 26 0.43 
			 868 Windsor and Maidenhead 34 0.35 21 0.21 22 0.22 
			 869 West Berkshire 28 0.26 18 0.16 14 0.12 
			 870 Reading 44 0.74 44 0.71 24 0.38 
			 871 Slough 32 0.44 14 0.19 9 0.12 
			 872 Wokingham 18 0.17 31 0.30 11 0.10 
		
	
	
		
			   Number Percentage(54) Number Percentage(54) Number Percentage(54) 
		
		
			 867 Bracknell Forest 23 0.38 23 038 18 0.30 
			 868 Windsor and Maidenhead 30 0.29 17 0.17 17 0.16 
			 869 West Berkshire 19 0.16 21 0.18 22 0.18 
			 870 Reading 21 0.33 12 019 7 0.11 
			 871 Slough 24 0.30 5 0.06 6 0.07 
			 872 Wokingham 15 0.14 11 010 20 0.18 
		
	
	(53) Includes middle schools as deemed.
	(54) The number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of pupils in maintained secondary schools.
	Source:
	Annual Schools Census

Schools (Special Measures)

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of students were entitled to free school meals in each of the schools placed in special measures in the last 10 years.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Secondary Pupils (Educational Achievement)

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the study conducted by Professor David Jesson of York university into the secondary school educational achievements of children who achieved the highest marks in Key Stage 2 tests in 1999.

Jacqui Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 7 June 2005, Official Report, column 474W-75W to the hon. Member for Hertsmere (Mr. Clappison).

Sex Education

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what sex education information her Department has distributed to secondary school pupils; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The Department is not responsible for distributing information on sex education to secondary school pupils. Head teachers and governors decide on the content and materials used in sex and relationship education (SRE) in consultation with parents and with support from Government websites such as the PSHE Teachernet site. Individual schools' SRE policies should have regard to the Department's SRE guidance issued to all schools in July 2000.
	SRE in secondary schools should inform young people about contraception and safer sex, and enable them to develop skills to avoid being pressured into unwanted or unprotected sex. It should also cover information and knowledge about HIV/AIDS.

Special Educational Needs

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will seek legislative changes to remove the presumption in favour of inclusion for children with special educational needs; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: Removing Barriers to Achievement, our special educational needs strategy, already provides a clear national vision for improving support and outcomes for all children with special educational needs. It sets out the way in which policy and practice in SEN will need to develop in the coming years, and sets out an ambitious programme of sustained action and review. The aim of the strategy is to build the capacity of schools, both special and mainstream, early education settings and local education authorities, from a solid base nationally, to take forward change to meet diverse pupil needs and to increase parents' confidence in SEN provision. We believe that this is best achieved without further legislation, particularly as there have been significant changes to the statutory framework within the last four years.

Synthetic Phonics

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answers of 13 June 2005, Official Report, column 229W, regarding the independent review of the role of synthetic phonics, when she will announce the names of the people who will work alongside Mr. Jim Rose in conducting the review.

Jacqui Smith: We are currently discussing with Jim Rose the support he will need. We will announce the names of his advisers as soon as possible.

Teacher Recruitment

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was paid to agencies for teacher recruitment by each local education authority in the last year for which figures are available; and how much was spent by (a) each such authority and (b) schools in each such authority on teacher recruitment in that year.

Jacqui Smith: The information is not collected centrally.

Teenage Pregnancies

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps the Government are taking to tackle teenage pregnancies.

Beverley Hughes: The Government's 10-year Teenage Pregnancy Strategy continues to make progress in meeting its target of a 50 per cent. reduction in under-18s conception rates by 2010. There has been a 9.8 per cent. decline in under 18 conceptions between 2003 (latest year for which we have figures available) and 1998, the baseline year for the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy and a 9.9 per cent. reduction in under 16 conceptions between 1998 and 2003. Four out of five local authorities show an overall decline in their rates and eight out of nine regions have reductions ranging from 816 per cent.
	This comprehensive strategy covers four key themes which includes joined up action, national campaign, prevention and support. Delivery of the strategy continues to be a priority for the Government. It is clear that an accelerated rate of reduction is needed to meet the target by 2010. We have asked all local partnerships to intensify their efforts to strengthen the delivery of the strategy to areas with the highest under-18 conception rates. 50 per cent. of under 18 conceptions are in 20 per cent. of wards with the highest rate. The vast majority of local authority areas have at least one high rate ward. Effective, comprehensive targeting of local strategies in these 'hot spot' areas is now vital, together with dissemination of best practice for those local authorities whose reduction chance is well above the national average.

Trinity Roman Catholic Primary School

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she expects building for the new Trinity Roman Catholic Primary school in Liverpool, Riverside to begin.

Jacqui Smith: I am pleased to report that we are writing to the school to confirm that we have now agreed the level of funding and the design of the new school buildings. This confirmation will mean that the work can proceed as soon as possible.

Truancy

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures are being taken to reduce truancy in schools.

Jacqui Smith: We are concerned about all forms of absence from school, but truancy is of particular concern. We continue to work with parents, pupils, schools and local authorities to improve school attendance and to tackle truancy.
	We have put in place a range of measures such as extra support for schools and local authorities from expert advisers and through additional resources. We promote effective practices to improve school attendance including national truancy sweeps, first day contact with the parents of absent pupils and electronic registration systems. We have also introduced the 'Fast-track Framework' a system to ensure early identification of attendance problems and a time-limited approach to solving them.
	We believe it is vital that parents play their part by ensuring that their child attends school regularly and the vast majority do so. Where parents are in need of support to fulfil their responsibilities, parenting contracts can provide them with the professional support they need and help them focus on what needs to be done to improve their child's attendance. However, where parents are not unable, but simply unwilling, to fulfil their responsibilities, they face strong measures such as penalty notices, prosecutions and compulsory Parenting Orders.
	By September 2007, we expect all secondary schools to be working together in collaborations, with funds devolved from their local authorities, to manage support and provision for persistent truants as well as pupils who are excluded or at risk of exclusion.

Voice Training

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations she has received on providing (a) new and (b) existing teachers with voice training.

Jacqui Smith: My right hon. Friend has received no such representations.

Voice Training

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the effects of voice training on the ability of teachers to control classes.

Jacqui Smith: The Department has not commissioned or evaluated research into this subject.

Youth Services Green Paper

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the Green Paper on youth services will be published.

Beverley Hughes: We intend to publish the Youth Green Paper shortly.

Youth Services Green Paper

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills for what reasons the Green Paper on youth services and young people has not yet been published.

Beverley Hughes: We are working on new proposals for young people covering five main areas: places to go and things to do, design and delivery of services, information, advice and guidance, support for teenagers at risk and clarification of local roles, responsibilities and funding. We intend to publish the youth Green Paper shortly.